The effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on procrastination and self- handicapping of students with academic failure

This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on procrastination and self-handicapping of students with academic failure. The research method was quasi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test and control group design. The statistical population of the present study was male high school students in Tehran in the academic year 2020-2021 who had a drop in education. Thirty students were selected by purposive sampling method and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The Solomon and Rothblum (1984) academic procrastination questionnaire (APQ) and the Jones and Rudwalt (1982) academic self-handicapping questionnaire (ASHQ) were used to collect data. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy was presented in 8 sessions of 60 minutes (Two sessions per week) for the experimental group. Multivariate analysis of covariance was used to analyze the data. The results showed that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy had a significant effect on academic procrastination (F = 28.54; P = 0.001) and academic self-handicapping (F = 11.534; P = 0.001). Therefore, the use of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy to improve procrastination and self-handicapping of students with academic failure is recommended.