Investigation of Academic Procrastination and its Dimensions and its
Relationship with Academic Performance among Students of Tabriz
University of Medical Sciences, Iran
Background & Objective: Procrastination is often described as a deliberate and irrational delay.
It is prevalent among students all over the world. The aim of this was study to determine the
prevalence of academic procrastination among the students of Tabriz University of Medical
Sciences, Iran, in the academic year 2014-2015 and its correlation with academic performance.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried on 150 medical, nursing, and midwifery
students living in the dormitory of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. The subjects were
selected through non-probability sampling. The data collection tool used was the Academic
Procrastination Scale (APS) designed by Solomon and Rothblum. The total reliability of the PAS
and the reliability of its subscales were determined using Cronbach’s alpha (range: 0.41-0.78).
The data were analyzed using chi-square test and multiple regression analysis.
Results: According to the results, the prevalence of procrastination and its dimensions were
35.3%, 28.0%, 30.7%, and 31.3%, respectively. The chi-square test also showed that
procrastination in assignments, articles and essays preparation, and the total score of
procrastination had a meaningful negative correlation with the academic performance of the
nursing and obstetric students (P < 0.01). Furthermore, the total score of procrastination and its
dimensions had significant negative correlation with the academic performance of the whole
sample (P < 0.01). The stepwise multiple regression reveald analysis that the total score of
procrastination was the best factor for predicting academic performance.
Conclusion: The present study results indicated procrastination as the most common cause of
reduction of academic performance among students. Therefore, complementary studies are
needed to investigate the causes of academic procrastination.
Key Words: Prevalence, Academic procrastination, Academic performanc
