The Mediating Role of Self-Compassion in the Relationship Between Anxiety and Procrastination

Abstract

Background: Procrastination is common among students. There are inconsistent evidence indicating the relationship between anxiety and procrastination. Similarly, underlying mechanisms of this relationship is not fully understood. One of these mechanisms may be self-compassion that may counteracts the negative effects of anxiety and procrastination. Hence, this research is aimed at investigating the mediating role of self-compassion in the relationship between anxiety and procrastination. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Shahed University. Subjects were selected from different faculties through cluster sampling method. Since a minimum sample size of 200 is necessary for Structural Equation Models, we distributed 300 questionnaires, but 210 questionnaires were appropriate to analysis. Students were asked to answer to tests, including anxiety, selfcompassion, and procrastination scale. Results: Anxiety is correlated with procrastination and all subscales of self-compassion. Three components of self-compassion, including self-judgment (r = 0.305, P < 0.001), isolation (r = 0.225, P = 0.001), and over-identification (r = 0.288, P < 0.001) have significant correlation with procrastination. Results of calculation in AMOS showed self-judgment and over-identification explain the relationship between self-compassion and procrastination, and they are full mediators of the relationship between anxiety and procrastination (r = 0.236; P = 0.008; 95% CI (0.069, 0.453). Conclusions: Results are consistent with the researches and theory. There are anxiety provoking factors among students correlated with the academic performance and getting accepted by peers, leading to self-judgment and over identification that are related to negative results such as procrastination.

The mediating role of cognitive test anxiety on the relationship between academic procrastination and subjective wellbeing and academic performance

“…At the same time, the fact that the age of the subjects correlated positively with two variables of the study (subjective wellbeing, and academic performance) and negatively with the other two study variables (cognitive test anxiety, and academic procrastination) indicates that in adolescence, and especially in girls, attention should be focused on managing anxiety evaluation and procrastination. The study's results confirm, in agreement with other studies ( 19 , 27 ), that procrastination correlates positively with test anxiety, while test anxiety correlates negatively with academic performance ( 43 ). So, given the negative effect of procrastination/ postponement on academic performance and wellbeing ( 5 , 11 – 19 ) academic procrastination must be discouraged by building positive, collaborative, and effective learning environments ( 67 ).…”

“…There are factors that cause anxiety among students correlated with academic performance, namely peer acceptance, uncertainty about the nature of expected demands, and their ability to meet these demands ( 9 ), doubts about their intellectual capacities, their time management capacities ( 37 , 38 ), insufficiently defined institutional standards for marking quality items, concerns about the fairness of certain types and assessment tools (e.g., across studies undertaken, students reported that oral presentations and high-stakes written assignments caused them more anxiety) ( 39 ). The range of anxiety-generating factors also includes the parenting style faced by the student ( 40 – 42 ), the negative, repetitive thinking about the consequences of failure that can lead to self-judgment and over-identification ( 10 , 43 ). It should be emphasized that all these factors are added to those generated by learning in open spaces, as a result of online education ( 44 ).…”

The Relationship Among Mindfulness, Acceptance, and Academic Procrastination in Students

“…The prevalence of procrastination has reported up to 95% among students (1). Procrastination results in the decrease of academic performance (2), and on the other hand, it is related to anxiety (3). While procrastination is used to avoid unpleasant consequences, and as a result is considered as an emotion regulation (4), studies show that procrastination can lead to a significant increase in distress (5).…”

“…Procrastinators expe-rience lower acceptance of themselves (14). A study investigated the relation between procrastination and anxiety, considering self-compassion as a mediator (3). Another research investigated the relationship between anxiety and acceptance in Iranian students (15).…”

“…Only a few studies have studied the relationship between mindfulness and state anxiety in a non-clinical sample. It is not clear if acceptance and mindfulness can increase the prediction of academic procrastination over trait anxiety in the Iranian culture, since the judgment, lack of acceptance, and procrastination are strongly influenced by cultural differences (3,16). Judgment and lack of acceptance are more common in Eastern cultures like Iran (3).…”