Investigating the structural model of procrastination based on transdiagnostic factors.

Background

Procrastination is a common and widespread phenomenon that affects 15-20% of the general population and 50% of students. Since developing and providing beneficial and effective interventions for procrastination needs a strong, comprehensive theoretical background explanation, the aim of the study was to assess the underlying transdiagnostic factors of procrastination and presenting a causal model.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study, 390 college students were asked to fill out a packet of self-report measures, which included the Pure procrastination scale, Difficulties in emotion regulation scale, Depression-anxiety-stress scales, Frost multidimensional perfectionism scale, Rumination response scale, Penn state worry questionnaire, Acceptance and action questionnaire. The causal model was tested using structural equation modeling (SEM).

Results

Results of the SEM indicate that perfectionism was significantly associated with increasing emotion dysregulation (β=0.446, P<0.001) and emotion dysregulation was significantly associated with increasing anxiety (β=0.499, P<0.001) and depression (β=0.478, P<0.001), and then anxiety and depression with other variables, such as worry (β=0.245, P<0.001; β=0.004, P=0.935), rumination (β=0.046, P=0.424; β=0.418, P<0.001) and experiential avoidance (β=0.277, P<0.001; β=0.319, P<0.001) related to procrastination. Finally, worry has the most significant increasing effect on procrastination. The very small root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA=0.038), together with large values of comparative fit index (CFI=0.985), relative fit index (RFI=0.917), and normed fit index (NFI=0.979) indicated that the model was well fit.

Conclusion

Perfectionism, emotion dysregulation, negative affects, worry, rumination, and experiential avoidance, known as transdiagnostic factors, had a causal relationship with procrastination, and reducing each transdiagnostic factor will improve procrastination. This study could be considered as a cornerstone for further studies on procrastination from a transdiagnostic approach.