Overcoming the Patterns of Powerlessness That Lead to Procrastination.

Abstract

Procrastination, the act of postponing and delaying needlessly, is a pervasive problem affecting the personal productivity of significant numbers of university students. Estimates vary from a high of 95% (Ellis & Knaus, 2002) to a low of 10% (Hill, Hill, Chabot, & Barrall, 1978). This pattern of avoidance affects male and female students equally and increases throughout their undergraduate years (McCown, Johnson, & Petzel, 1989). In fact, many university students assume that because procrastination is such a common practice, it is simply something with whichthey must live. The typical outcomes of procrastination are lower grades (Rothblum, Solomon, & Murakami, 1986), course withdrawals (Welsley, 1994), stress (Blunt &Pychyl, 2000), increased health risks (Baumeister, 1997), and interpersonal conflict (Day, Mensink, & O'Sullivan, 2000). In one study, 52% of students reported that procrastination had become a serious problem for which they had sought help (Gallagher, 1992). For 20% to 30% of university students, procrastination is a serious problem adversely affecting academic achievement and quality of life (McCown, 1986; Solomon & Rothblum, 1984). Developmentally, the incidence of procrastination increases significantly during the four years of 75

Academic Procrastination: Associations with Personal, School, and Family Variables

“…Corroborating many other research findings (Blunt & Pylchyl, 2005;Ferrari, et al, 1997;Ferrari & Scher, 2002), adolescents usually avoid difficult and disagreeable tasks that involve high demand of effort and for which they feel unprepared, and that could explain why procrastination increases with the number of course years failed (Blunt & Pylchyl, 2005;Boice, 1993Boice, , 1995Costa, 2007;Onwuegbuzie, 2000;Walker, 2004). ROSÁRIO, COSTA, NÚÑEZ, GONZÁLEZ-PIENDA, SOLANO, AND VALLE…”

Resilience and Decision‐Making Strategies as Predictors of Career Decision Difficulties

“…Although a clear target for intervention, procrastination has many factors associated with it. Procrastinators have negative evaluations of self‐worth, engage in irrational thinking, and are self‐conscious (Walker, ). There are also elements of procrastination specific to the tasks of career‐ and self‐exploration and decision making.…”

Investigating the Relationships Among Resilience, Social Anxiety, and Procrastination in a Sample of College Students

“…Procrastination is particularly common among college students. A study estimated that approximately 80% of college students are procrastinators, and procrastination was identified as one of the most common problem behaviors requiring improved management (Steel & Ferrari, 2013;Walker & Stewart, 2000). Procrastination is generally defined as a purposeful voluntary delay in task completion (Steel, 2007).…”