Perfectionism, procrastination, and psychological distress.

Abstract

Using a cross-panel design and data from 2 successive cohorts of college students (N = 357), we examined the stability of maladaptive perfectionism, procrastination, and psychological distress across 3 time points within a college semester. Each construct was substantially stable over time, with procrastination being especially stable. We also tested, but failed to support, a mediational model with Time 2 (mid-semester) procrastination as a hypothesized mechanism through which Time 1 (early-semester) perfectionism would affect Time 3 (end-semester) psychological distress. An alternative model with Time 2 perfectionism as a mediator of the procrastination-distress association also was not supported. Within-time analyses revealed generally consistent strength of effects in the correlations between the 3 constructs over the course of the semester. A significant interaction effect also emerged. Time 1 procrastination had no effect on otherwise high levels of psychological distress at the end of the semester for highly perfectionistic students, but at low levels of Time 1 perfectionism, the most distressed students by the end of the term were those who were more likely to have procrastinated earlier in the semester. Implications of the stability of the constructs and their association over time, as well as the moderating effects of procrastination, are discussed in the context of maladaptive perfectionism and problematic procrastination.

Psychological Well-Being and Its Relationship with Active and Passive Procrastination: A Study on Students of a Business University in Karachi

“…The result showed that the students who were younger, were active procrastinators, whereas students who were older, were passive procrastinators (Cao, 2012). Similarly another research by Rice, Richardson and Clark (2012) tried to test if there was a correlation between procrastination, psychological stress and perfectionism. What they found was that students who were active procrastinators, had lower levels of psychological stress than those who were passive procrastinators or even perfectionists (Rice, Richardson, & Clark, 2012); therefore proving the hypotheses presented by Chu and Choi that active procrastination is positive procrastination (Choi & Chu, 2005).…”

Negative and positive perfectionism as predictors of procrastination in female high school students in Tehran, Iran

“…This finding is consistent with the results of previous studies. Rice et al (2012) reported negative perfectionism to have significant relationships with procrastination and its dimensions (including concentration, time management, and concerns about performing tasks). Flett et al (1992) discussed that people experience procrastination due to their perfectionism.…”

“…Positive or adaptive perfectionism is characterized by setting high, yet accessible, personal standards, seeking order, organization, and excellence in tasks, and feeling satisfied with one's own performance and motivated to achieve positive rewards. On the other hand, negative or maladaptive perfectionism is characterized by unrealistically high standards, excessive concerns about mistakes and cognitive deficits, perception of high pressure from others to be faultless, perception of a huge discrepancy between personal performance and standards, compulsive doubts about one's actions, and avoidance of consequences of one's actions (Rice, Richardson & Clark, 2012).…”

Procrastination is Detrimental to Undergraduate Students’ Self-Rated Creativity: The Mediating Role of State Anxiety

“…Over the years, procrastination has been found to have a negative effect on academic performance (Kim & Seo, 2015;Owens, 1997;You, 2015), job satisfaction (Mohsin & Ayub, 2014), mental health (Fritzsche, Rapp Young, & Hickson, 2003;Mohsin & Ayub, 2014;Rice, Richardson, & Clark, 2012) and self-efficacy (Klassen, Krawchuk, & Rajani, 2008). Using a longitudinal design, Patrzek, Sattler, van Veen, Grunschel, and Fries (2014) examined responses of between 1359 and 2207 university students collected in two waves and found that academic procrastination affected them in different ways and led to academic misconduct, such as using fraudulent excuses, plagiarism and fabrication or falsification of data.…”