Objective: Procrastination is a pervasive phenomenon denoting delay in academic activities and is associated with multiple factors. Because it affects various aspects of students' individual and social lives, this study aimed to explain the process of its formation as a step toward reducing or eliminating it.
Methods: This study used the grounded theory method. A prevalence study on procrastination was first conducted among students at Persian Gulf University, Bushehr, Iran, during the 2023–2024 academic year; students scoring two standard deviations above the mean were identified as procrastinators. Data were then collected from 22 procrastinating students through semi-structured interviews using purposive sampling.
Results: The causes of procrastination comprised two categories (self-related and external factors), spanning personality traits, motivation, lifestyle, social media, family, and the educational system. Procrastination factors were organized into contextual, perpetuating, and manifesting categories, including parenting style, self-confidence, burnout, the COVID-19 era, and interpersonal and occupational background. Coping strategies fell into avoidance, confrontational, submission, and emotion-focused categories, such as task avoidance, planning, and negative emotions. Consequences were grouped into individual and interpersonal categories, including academic and psychological harm, reduced self-confidence, and damaged relationships.
Conclusions: Stable personality, family, and motivational patterns formed the core category of the findings, offering important practical implications for understanding the personality, family, and motivational profile of procrastinating students.
Type of Study:
Original |
Subject:
Educational Psychology Received: 2024/11/7 | Accepted: 2025/11/15 | Published: 2026/09/10