Psychological Well-Being and Its Relationships with Active and Passive Procrastination

Abstract

Procrastination affects many people and impacts overall effectiveness of individuals and organisations. While some studies have examined the correlates of procrastination in terms of impacts on well-being (including depression and anxiety) and on performance, few studies have examined procrastination as a dichotomous construct, with most seeing procrastination as unifactorial. One such study defining procrastination as dichotomous was that of Chu and Choi (2005). The current study examines how psychological well-being is related to the concepts of active procrastination and passive (traditional) procrastination. Active and passive procrastination are related insignificantly to each other (we are not dealing with one dimension); but what would be the relationships among psychological well-being, active procrastination and passive procrastination? The different forms of procrastination may have different relationships to well-being and research is scarce; and further, treatment processes for avoiding the negative effects of procrastination should be tailored to the different forms of procrastination. It was hypothesised that psychological well-being would be related positively to active procrastination and negatively to passive procrastination. To answer this question, 152 university students aged between 18 and 54, mean age of 23.3 (SD = 18) completed the Active Procrastination Scale, the Passive Procrastination Scale, and Ryff's Scales of Psychological Well-Being. Standard multiple regression was used, linking psychological well-being, age, gender, active and passive procrastination. The findings show active and passive procrastination are in fact separate constructs and need to be treated differently. Being an active procrastinator can be a sign of healthy well-being.

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

“…Passive procrastinators have no intention to procrastinate; but they frequently end up doing so due to an inability to make quick, effective decisions. (Habelrih & Hicks, 2015) Affectively, an approaching deadline ultimately causes passive procrastinators to feel pressured, thereby eliciting pessimistic thoughts regarding their capacity to achieve good results. (Habelrih & Hicks, 2015) By not completing a task within a given deadline, the person may beleive that poor performance was influenced by lack of effort or greater pressure of impending deadline rather than a of lack of personal ability (Ferrari et al, 1995).…”

Procrastination As A Factor Of Avoiding Threats To Subjective Wellbeing

“…Studies indicate that it is a high level of psychological wellbeing that predetermines active procrastination (Chu & Choi, 2005;Habelrih & Hicks, 2015;Sirois & Tosti, 2012), and it is negatively linked to passive delay in doing things, thus, defining the parameters of procrastination intensity and its relationships with subjective wellbeing one might say that it is activity, or passivity of experiencing procrastination that has a great impact on indicators of subjective wellbeing.…”

“…In a number of studies new data on the emergence of negative emotions and anxiety associated with procrastination are becoming accessible, which is, in particular, Milgram (1991) stated in his definition of procrastination. Perceived procrastination involves not only a longer period of performing task or decision-making but also distress and anxiety (Habelrih & Hicks, 2015;Rothblum, Solomon, & Murakami, 1986).…”

Avaliando o papel da procrastinação acadêmica e bem-estar subjetivo na predição da satisfação com o programa de pós-graduação

“…Comumente, a procrastinação acadêmica envolve a demora a finalização de tarefas, projetos e atividades de modo que a corrida contra o tempo, torna-se danoso para o indivíduo, acarretando níveis elevados de mal-estar psicológico (Beiter et al, 2015;Macher et al, 2012). Desse modo, a procrastinação acadêmica ao reduzir os níveis do bem-estar subjetivo (Habelrih & Hicks, 2015), afeta outras áreas da vida, como os relacionamentos sociais (McCloskey, 2011), nível de realização acadêmica (Balkis, 2013) e, como demonstrando neste estudo, a satisfação com a pós-graduação.…”

“…Nesta perspectiva, estudos demonstraram o impacto negativo que a procrastinação acadêmica fornece no bem-estar subjetivo (Balkis, 2013;Habelrih & Hicks, 2015). Em outras palavras, os acadêmicos mais procrastinadores tendem a se apresentar com menor indicador de bem-estar subjetivo e menor satisfação com a vida acadêmica (Balkis & Duru, 2016;Grunschel, Schwinger, Steinmayr, & Fries, 2016).…”