Prediction of academic procrastination based on personality traits with mediator role of self regulation skills

Procrastination refers to the practice of carrying out less urgent tasks or doing pleasurable things in place of more urgent ones, thus putting off impending tasks to a later time. Many studies have addressed the effects of contextual factors and personality traits on procrastination. The purpose of this study was to predict procrastination based on personality traits with mediating role of self-regulation learning strategies. To do this, 320 students (170 males and 150 females) were selected randomly through multistage cluster sampling among tehran university. The data collection was done through 3 different scales: Solomon & Rathblom procrastination assessment scale-student (PASS), Goldberg Personality scale, and self-regulation learning strategies. These instruments showed appropriate reliability and validity. Path analysis was the major statistical operation run in the study.
The results by path analysis technique showed that the relationship between Personality and procrastination was influenced by self-regulation learning strategies. Neuroticism and extraversion had positive direct and indirect effects on procrastination. In addition, conscientiousness and openness to experience had negative direct and indirect effects on procrastination. Cognitive strategies and meta cognitive strategies had negative effects on procrastination.
In summary, the results showed that self-regulation learning strategies could have a mediator role in the relationship between personality traits and procrastination. This model provides a good pattern for explaining academic procrastination, which parents, teachers and counselors could use for decreasing academic procrastination.