Less Adaptive or More Maladaptive? A Meta–analytic Investigation of Procrastination and Coping

Abstract

Despite the theoretical and empirical accounts of trait procrastination as reflecting avoidance of aversive tasks as a means of mood repair, research documenting its links to coping is scarce and inconsistent. There is also little if any research to date examining whether coping strategies might explain the procrastination–stress relationship. The current research aimed to address these issues by integrating current research on procrastination and coping with our own data into a first meta‐analysis of the associations of procrastination with adaptive and maladaptive coping and then testing the potential role of coping for understanding the procrastination–stress relationship. In Study 1, a literature search yielded five published papers and three theses, which were supplemented by seven unpublished data sets comprising 15 samples (N = 4357). Meta‐analyses revealed that procrastination was positively associated with maladaptive coping (average r = .31) and negatively associated with adaptive coping (average r = −.24). In Study 2, a meta‐analysis of the indirect effects through coping across four samples revealed that the average indirect effects for maladaptive but not adaptive coping explained the link between procrastination and stress. These findings expand the nomological network of procrastination and highlight the role of maladaptive coping for understanding procrastinators' stress. Copyright © 2015 European Association of Personality Psychology

“Facebocrastination”? Predictors of using Facebook for procrastination and its effects on students’ well-being

“…Taken together, the results from procrastination research clearly demonstrate the negative consequences of procrastinatory behavior for students' academic performance and well-being (Kim & Seo, 2015;Sirois & Kitner, 2015). We propose that procrastination with Facebook will have similar detrimental effects in the academic domain and that these effects extend to students' overall well-being.…”

“…Initial evidence further suggests that procrastination with Facebook affects the well-being of Facebook users (e.g., Hinsch & Sheldon, 2013), particularly in the academic domain (Kim & Seo, 2015;Sirois & Kitner, 2015;Steel, 2007). However, prior research on the consequences of procrastination with media content and mediated communication is scarce.…”

“…These negative selfevaluations greatly impair procrastinators' psychological wellbeing. Specifically, several studies show a strong link between procrastination and stress: As procrastinators finally tackle their postponed work, they typically struggle with the drawbacks of decreased time for task completion as well as negative selfevaluative thoughts and emotions, which increases levels of stress (e.g., Flett et al, 2012;Sirois & Kitner, 2015;Sirois, 2014). Furthermore, in a longitudinal study conducted among students (Tice & Baumeister, 1997), procrastination of academic tasks was not only related to stress as the deadline got closer during the semester, but also to symptoms of stress-related illness.…”

“…Moreover, initial evidence indicates that procrastination with Facebook is particularly detrimental to students' well-being (Hinsch & Sheldon, 2013), which is supported by research on the negative consequences of general, non-mediarelated procrastinatory behavior among students (Kim & Seo, 2015;Sirois & Kitner, 2015;Steel, 2007).…”

Compulsive Internet Use and Academic Procrastination: Significant Comparative, Correlative and Predicting Indicators in a Romanian Student Sample

“…• Stimulating and improving the tutorship and didactical teaching strategies (grounded learning); Future interventions, for lowering the personal and global costs to health and well-being, should also focus on reducing the use of avoidant, self-blaming and compulsive substance/ internet use coping among procrastinators and stimulate learning strategies for proactive coping [7], which involves taking a future-oriented and problem-focused approach.…”