As information technology advances rapidly, the internet has become an essential resource in our everyday routines. However, the internet presents a risk of addiction and may adversely impact students' mental health, thus potentially leading to academic failure. Moreover, academic procrastination is also a common phenomenon in learning situations among college students. Although there have been studies on the relationship between Internet addiction and academic procrastination, there are fewer studies on the mechanisms by which Internet addiction affects academic procrastination, especially among Chinese college students. This study aims to investigate the role of self-esteem as a mediator in the relationship between Internet addiction and academic procrastination among college students. A survey was conducted using the Chinese Internet Addiction Scale Revised (CIAS-R), the Aitken's Procrastination Inventory, and the Self-esteem Scale on 446 college students at a Chinese university. The results revealed that Internet addiction was positively correlated with academic procrastination (r = 0.389, p<0.01). Both Internet addiction and procrastination were significantly and negatively correlated with self-esteem (r = -0.231, p < 0.01; r = -0.277, p < 0.01). Self-esteem partially mediated the effect between internet addiction and academic procrastination, and the mediating effect accounted for 11.79% of the total effect. These results highlight the importance of addressing academic procrastination by considering both the direct and psychological impacts of internet addiction.
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