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Research on Academic Procrastination

Jake L. McPhee

Comm 2715: Academic Writing for Success Strategies

Prof. Clayton Rhodes

November 14, 2021

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Research on Academic Procrastination

. Procrastination is the act of putting a task off until a later point in time. The act of

procrastination is one that many have performed whether it be for a mundane task or a difficult

task. As a matter of fact, procrastination is such a common behaviour that it has a prevalence rate

of 70% in students and 20% in adults (Fernie et al., 2016). It is important to realize the difference

in prevalence that procrastination has between students and adults. The act of procrastination is

much higher for students than it is for adults, and it is directly related to the work a student must

do. Students are expected to complete assignments and study for upcoming tests in multiple

classes. However, students will often engage in academic procrastination to avoid completing

their tasks. Academic procrastination is unique in that the tasks being delayed are completing

assignments and studying for tests. The issue of academic procrastination is one that is endemic

to students and should be explored further with scrutiny. Academic procrastination is a

problematic behaviour among students that results in a worsened state of well-being. The

problems which arise from academic procrastination are emotional stress, poor academic

performance, and poor coping strategies.

First, academic procrastination will ultimately lead to emotional stress. Emotional stress

is best described as experiencing a negative mental effect (such as anxiety) which leads to a

worsened sense of well-being (Schneiderman et al., 2005). To further understand the idea of how

academic procrastination leads to emotional stress it’s imperative to understand the cognitive

drain it produces. A student who engages in academic procrastination will primarily be afflicted

by rumination and worry (Fernie et al., 2016). Rumination and worry have a significant impact

on cognitive performance and will lead to insufficient mental energy to overcome academic
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procrastination (Fernie et al., 2016). As a result, it is only natural to postulate that academic

procrastination is an insidious self-perpetuating cycle. The self-perpetuating cycle is that the act

of academic procrastination leads to a drained mental state which causes the inability to initiate

the task they are delaying. Furthermore, academic procrastination will affect other parts of an

individual’s mental well-being. Academic procrastination has been directly related to numerous

mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, irrational thinking, and low self-esteem

[ CITATION Jan15 \l 1033 ]. As has been noted, emotional stress is experiencing a negative

mental effect and having a worsened sense of well-being. As can be seen, engaging in academic

procrastination results in a plethora of negative mental effects which impact your sense of well-

being. Given these points, it’s evident that the emotional stress that results from academic

procrastination will result in a worsened state of well-being.

Second, academic procrastination will lead to poor academic performance. Good

academic performance can be defined as handing in assignments on time, achieving high grades,

and having effective studying methods. In contrast, poor academic performance can be defined

as having late assignments, lower grades, and ineffectual studying methods. Considering that

those who engage in academic procrastination are delaying completing assignments and studying

it is natural to assume their academic performance will suffer. As a matter of fact, the act of

academic procrastination does have a negative impact on academic performance. Engaging in

academic procrastination has adverse effects on academic performance, specifically, that it

results in lower grades and late assignments [ CITATION Jan15 \l 1033 ]. Moreover, academic

procrastination is discriminatory as depending on the subject matter it has an even larger

negative correlation with academic performance. Students who are engaging in academic
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procrastination in a mathematics course have significantly worse academic performance than

those in other subjects [ CITATION Jan15 \l 1033 ]. Consequently, poor academic performance

can, ultimately, lead to course withdrawal or dropping out of a program. It should be well known

that the previously mentioned end results are not desirable by any student. This ever-looming

possibility of dropping out would be palpable in an academic procrastinator and further

exacerbate emotional stress which subsequently has a negative effect on mental well-being. To

summarize, academic procrastination leads to poor academic performance due to late

assignments and lower grades. Because of this, it is apparent that academic procrastination

results in a worsened state of well-being.

Third, academic procrastination will cause a student to develop poor coping strategies.

Poor coping strategies are defined as coping strategies that result in harmful consequences

(Freire et al., 2020). Examples of poor coping strategies can range from nail-biting to alcoholism.

In contrast, proper coping strategies are typically those which avoid harmful consequences.

Examples of proper coping strategies are ones that seek external support or planning to aid in

combating a stressor (Freire et al., 2020). Proper coping strategies are imperative to the success

of a student and are an excellent indicator of future academic achievement (Freire et al., 2020).

However, a student engaging in academic procrastination will not have proper coping strategies

and opt to distract themselves from the mental distress caused by academic procrastination

(Fernie et al., 2016). These forms of distraction are inherently poor coping strategies and can be

as banal as using the internet to more extreme forms such as alcoholism. In fact, academic

procrastination and alcoholism have a direct correlation. Students that engage in academic

procrastination are more likely to use alcohol as a distraction and have higher alcohol cravings
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(Westgate et al., 2017). Consequently, using alcohol as a coping technique can ultimately lead to

alcoholism. The previously mentioned poor coping techniques that the academic procrastinator

uses has a negative effect on their well-being. Without the use of proper coping techniques, an

academic procrastinator severely limits their academic potential. The poor coping techniques

often employed by the academic procrastinator only serve to further negatively impact their well-

being. It is evident that academic procrastination leads to a worsened state of well-being.

In conclusion, academic procrastination leads to emotional stress, poor academic

performance, and poor coping strategies. Ultimately, the issues which arise from academic

procrastination lead to a worsened state of well-being. Academic procrastination is undoubtedly

a problematic behaviour that afflicts students. It is a behaviour that is insidious in nature as it

causes detrimental effects to a student’s well-being. Furthermore, it is a behaviour that deserves

further research as it can severely limit a student’s potential. It is equally important to note,

academic procrastination is a behavioural issue. A behavioural issue can be treated and managed

through therapy. To emphasize, the problematic behaviour that is academic procrastination can

be treated and managed. All the issues which arise from academic procrastination can be entirely

avoidable if the underlying behaviour is treated and managed through therapy.

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References

Fernie, B. A., Bharucha, Z., Nikčević, A. V., Marino, C., & Spada, M. M. (2016). A

Metacognitive Model of Procrastination. Journal of Affective Disorders.

Freire, C., Ferradas, M., Reguiero, B., Rodríguez, S., Valle, A., & Núñez, J. C. (2020). Coping

Strategies and Self-Efficacy in University Students: A Person-Centered Approach.

Frontiers in Psychology.

Janssen, J. (2015). Academic Procrastination: Prevalence Among High School and

Undergraduate Students and Relationship to Academic Achievement. Georgia State

University.

Schneiderman, N., Ironson, G., & Siegal, S. D. (2005). STRESS AND HEALTH: Psychological,

Behavioral, and Biological Determinants. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology.

Westgate, E. C., Wormington, S. V., Oleson, K. C., & Lindgren, K. P. (2017). Productive

Procrastination: Academic Procrastination Style Predicts Academic and Alcohol

Outcomes. Journal of Applied Social Psychology.