SELF-REGULATION AND DIGITAL DISTURBANCE IN ACADEMIC PROCRASTINATION: EVIDENCE FROM A GENDER-INVARIANT STRUCTURAL MODEL

Nusrotus Sa'idah

Authors

Nusrotus Sa'idah Universitas Islam Nahdlatul Ulama Jepara

Keywords:

academic procrastination, Self Regulation, Digital Disturbance, Gender-Invariant Structural Model

Abstract

Academic procrastination remains a persistent challenge in higher education, particularly within digitally saturated learning environments. This study examines a structural model of academic procrastination by integrating self-regulation and digital disturbance, while also testing gender-based measurement invariance to ensure unbiased interpretation across groups. Using a quantitative ex post facto design, data were collected from 216 Indonesian undergraduate students through validated Likert-scale instruments measuring self-regulation, digital disturbance, and academic procrastination. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to analyze direct and relational effects among latent constructs, followed by multi-group confirmatory factor analysis to assess measurement invariance across gender. The results indicate that self-regulation has a significant negative effect on academic procrastination (β = −0.290, p < .001), whereas digital disturbance shows a strong positive effect (β = 0.544, p < .001). In addition, self-regulation is negatively associated with digital disturbance (β = −0.268), highlighting its role as a protective mechanism against digital distractions. Together, self-regulation and digital disturbance explain 46.5% of the variance in academic procrastination. Measurement invariance testing supports configural, metric, and scalar invariance across gender, confirming that the measurement model functions equivalently for male and female students. These findings conceptualize academic procrastination as a multifactorial phenomenon resulting from the interaction between individual self-regulatory capacity and digitally induced attentional demands. Methodologically, this study contributes by establishing gender-invariant measurement, while substantively framing academic procrastination within a student well-being perspective. The results underscore the importance of institutional interventions that strengthen self-regulated learning and manage digital distractions in higher education.

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Author Biography

Nusrotus Sa'idah, Universitas Islam Nahdlatul Ulama Jepara

Universitas Islam Nahdlatul Ulama Jepara, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia

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