Understanding procrastination: A case of a study skills course

• Published in: Social psychology of education 2021-04, Vol.24 (2), p.589-606
• Main Authors: Hailikari, T., Katajavuori, N., Asikainen, H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic achievement; Education; Learning strategies; Personality and Social Psychology; Predictor Variables; Psychological Patterns; Self Efficacy; Sociology of Education; Study Skills; Time Management; Well Being
• ISSN: 1381-2890; 1573-1928
• DOI: 10.1007/s11218-021-09621-2

Procrastination is consistently viewed as problematic to academic success and students’ general well-being. There are prevailing questions regarding the underlying and maintaining mechanisms of procrastination which are yet to be learnt. The aim of the present study was to combine different ways to explain procrastination and explore how students’ time and effort management skills, psychological flexibility and academic self-efficacy are connected to procrastination as they have been commonly addressed separately in previous studies. The data were collected from 135 students who participated in a voluntary time management and well-being course in autumn 2019. The results showed that students’ ability to organize their time and effort has the strongest association with procrastination out of the variables included in the study. Psychological flexibility also has a strong individual role in explaining procrastination along with time and effort management skills. Surprisingly, academic self-efficacy did not have a direct association with procrastination. Interestingly, our findings further suggest that time and effort management and psychological flexibility are closely related and appear to go hand in hand and, thus, both need to be considered when the aim is to reduce procrastination. The implications of the findings are further discussed.