Designing a Model of Academic Procrastination Based on Self-Efficacy and Perfectionism in Kerman Islamic Azad University Psychology Students in the Academic Year 2022-2023 with the Mediating Role of Metacognitive Beliefs: A Descriptive Study

Procrastination has many negative consequences on both physical and mental health and the ability of people to achieve goals. Therefore, it is reasonable to study to know the related factors. The present study was conducted with the aim of analyzing the path of predicting academic procrastination of students based on their perfectionism and self-efficacy, considering the mediating role of metacognitive beliefs.

The current research is a descriptive-correlational study. The statistical population included undergraduate psychology students of Kerman Islamic Azad University in the academic year 2022-2023, and 227 students were selected by convenience sampling and completed the scales of Savari et al.’s Academic Procrastination, Sherer and Maddux’s General Self-Efficacy, Hill et al.’s Perfectionism, and Wells and Cartwright’s Metacognitive Beliefs. Data were analyzed using structural equations modelling.

The results indicated that self-efficacy has a direct, positive and significant effect on positive metacognitive beliefs (β=0.39, p<0.01) and an inverse, negative and significant effect on negative metacognitive beliefs (β=-0.42, p<0.01) and academic procrastination (β=-0.32, p<0.01). The results also showed that perfectionism has a direct, positive and significant effect on positive metacognitive beliefs (β=0.83, p<0.01) and negative metacognitive beliefs (β=0.51, p<0.01).

The results of the current study showed that metacognitive beliefs can play an important role in the relationship between self-efficacy and perfectionism and academic procrastination. Considering the negative consequences of procrastination on the academic health of students, it is recommended that intervention programs be prepared to appropriately change the variables affecting procrastination.