Perfectionism and practice procrastination in piano majors: a moderated mediation model of music performance anxiety and self-efficacy.

Introduction: Practice procrastination is a commonly observed yet understudied issue in music education, including among piano majors who face sustained demands for daily deliberate practice. Perfectionism, a common personality trait in music students, may be associated with practice procrastination, and MPA may serve as an intermediary in this relationship by translating perfectionistic concerns into avoidance-oriented practice behavior. However, this mechanism remains empirically untested, and how individual differences moderate this process is unclear. Methods: This cross-sectional study examined these relationships using a moderated mediation model among 156 Chinese undergraduate piano majors (67.9% female; Results: Perfectionism was positively associated with practice procrastination both directly and indirectly, with MPA serving as an intermediary variable in this relationship. Self-efficacy moderated the association between MPA and procrastination, such that higher self-efficacy attenuated or eliminated the positive link between anxiety and procrastination. The moderated mediation analysis supported the conditional nature of the indirect pathway, with its strength varying as a function of self-efficacy level. Discussion: These findings suggest a cognitive-emotional-behavioral pathway in which perfectionism is associated with practice procrastination, with MPA appearing to function as an emotional intermediary and self-efficacy serving as a potential protective factor. The results offer empirically informed guidance for music educators seeking to identify at-risk students and develop targeted interventions, and they suggest that enhancing self-efficacy may help disrupt the anxiety-procrastination association.