Relationship between lifestyle actual-ideal self-discrepancy and self-regulatory fatigue in undergraduate students

Objective To investigate the relationship between the lifestyle actual-ideal self-discrepancy and the self-regulatory fatigue. Methods A sample of 434 healthy undergraduate students were recruited from September to October 2015. They were inquired the demographic information questionnaire, the lifestyle actual-ideal self-discrepancy of Chinese Adolescent Lifestyles Scale(CALS) and the Self-Regulatory Fatigue Scale (SRF-S). Results The scores of lifestyle actual-ideal self-discrepancy in study habits ranked the highest(1.00(0.60, 1.40)), followed by physical exercise(0.86(0.43, 1.29)), sleep status(0.80(0.40, 1.00)), diet( 0.75(0.50, 1.25)), recreational activities(0.63(0.00, 1.00)), coping style(0.50(0.25, 0.75)), interpersonal relationship (0.46(0.17, 0.67)) and health habits(0.25(0.00, 0.50)). Furthermore, the scores of actual-ideal self-discrepancy in interpersonal relationship, study habits, sleep, physical exercise, coping style and diet were positively correlated with the scores of self-regulatory fatigue(r=0.22, 0.19, 0.19, 0.16, 0.13, 0.12, P<0.05). There was no relationship between the scores of actual-ideal self-discrepancy and the scores of self-regulatory fatigue in health habits and recreational activities(r=0.31, 0.04). Conclusion The actual-ideal self-discrepancy in interpersonal relationship, study habits, physical exercise, coping style, sleep and diet were positively correlated with the self-regulatory fatigue. The reduction in these lifestyle actual-ideal self-discrepancy may help college students ease their self-adjustment fatigue. Key words: Lifestyle; Actual-ideal self-discrepancy; Self-regulatory fatigue