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Reasons and Motivations for Procrastinating Academic Activities in First-Year Medical Students

Received: 31 May 2021     Accepted: 15 June 2021     Published: 21 June 2021
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Abstract

The purpose of this research was to investigate the extent to which procrastination occurs in first-year medical students and the reasons for this behavior. It was a cross-sectional study conducted with 388 medical students from a public university in Mexico City. The Procrastination Assessment Scale-Students (PASS) was used. A descriptive analysis of procrastination behaviors and the reasons for their manifestation was carried out using frequencies and percentages. On the other hand, a comparative analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney U test for sex, age, and school of origin. In addition, Kruskal-Wallis and Bonferroni tests were performed for high school grade point average, mother's education, and the people with whom the students lived when applying the instrument. About 30% of the students reported postponing homework or studying, while 27% or less postpone other activities (e.g., tutoring or academic paperwork). As for the reasons why students delay their chores, the ones that stand out are: poor time management, feeling overwhelmed, laziness, frustration (because they think the task takes too much time), anxiety about the evaluation, perfectionism, and difficulty in making decisions when performing the task. As a result of the comparative analysis, it was found that younger people tend to procrastinate less than older people (Z= -2.42; p= .016) when postponing their homework. Males tend to do it more than females as a way of experiencing excitement when rebelling against control (Z= -2.76; p= .006) and taking risks (Z= -2.32; p= .020). However, female students tend to procrastinate more than males when they felt overwhelmed by academic work and the lack of time to carry it out (Z= -2.47; p= .013). In addition, those who attended private schools during high school tend to procrastinate more than those who attended public academies when they have doubts and require assistance but find it difficult to ask the teacher or other people (Z= -2.33; p= .020). In conclusion, the results of this work will help to know the motivation for postponing academic activities and the influences associated with delaying these responsibilities, and therefore, to develop proposals on dealing with bad practices.

Published in American Journal of Applied Psychology (Volume 10, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajap.20211003.14
Page(s) 82-88
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Procrastination, Academic Procrastination, Medical Students

References
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[5] Carranza, R. and Ramírez, A. (2013). Procrastination and demographic characteristics associated with college students. University Notes Research Journal, III (2), 95-108.
[6] Cao, L. (2012). Differences in procrastination and motivation between undergraduate and graduate students. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 12 (2), 39-64.
[7] Clariana, M., Cladellas, R., Badía, M. M. and Gotzens, C. (2011). The influence of gender on personality variables conditioning learning: Emotional intelligence and academic procrastination. Inter-University Electronic Journal of Teacher Training, 14 (3), 87-96.
[8] Alegre, A. A. (2013). Self-efficacy and academic procrastination of university students in Metropolitan Lima. Purposes and Representations, 1 (2), 57-82.
[9] Jadidi, F., Mohammadkhani, S. and Tajrishi, K. Z. (2011). Perfectionism and academic procrastination. Procedia Social and Behavioral Science, 30, 534-537.
[10] Garzón Umerenkova, A., de la Fuente, J., Amate, J., Paoloni, P. V., Fadda, S. and Pérez, J. F. (2018). A linear empirical model of self-regulation on flourishing, health, procrastination, and achievement, among university students. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 536.
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[15] Furlan, L. A., Ferrero, M. J. and Gallart, G. (2014). Test anxiety, procrastination, and mental symptoms in university students. Argentine Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 6 (3), 31-39.
[16] Hussain, I. and Sultan, S. (2010). Analysis of procrastination among university students. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 5, 1897-1904.
[17] Garzón Umerenkova, A. and Gil Flores, J. (2017). The role of academic procrastination as a factor of university abandonment. Complutense Journal of Education, 28 (1), 307-324.
[18] Garzón Umerenkova, A. and Gil Flores, J. (2017). Psychometric Properties of the Spanish Version of the Test Procrastination Assessment Scale-Students (PASS). Ibero-American Journal of Psychological Diagnosis and Evaluation - e Avaliação Psicológica. RIDEP, 43 (1), 149-163.
[19] Solomon, L. J. and Rothblum, E. D. (1984). Academic procrastination: Frequency and cognitive-behavioral correlates. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 81 (4), 503-509.
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    María Martina Jurado, Ileana Petra, Norma Yepez, Mariana Fouilloux, Beatriz Zamora. (2021). Reasons and Motivations for Procrastinating Academic Activities in First-Year Medical Students. American Journal of Applied Psychology, 10(3), 82-88. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20211003.14

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    ACS Style

    María Martina Jurado; Ileana Petra; Norma Yepez; Mariana Fouilloux; Beatriz Zamora. Reasons and Motivations for Procrastinating Academic Activities in First-Year Medical Students. Am. J. Appl. Psychol. 2021, 10(3), 82-88. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20211003.14

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    AMA Style

    María Martina Jurado, Ileana Petra, Norma Yepez, Mariana Fouilloux, Beatriz Zamora. Reasons and Motivations for Procrastinating Academic Activities in First-Year Medical Students. Am J Appl Psychol. 2021;10(3):82-88. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20211003.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajap.20211003.14,
      author = {María Martina Jurado and Ileana Petra and Norma Yepez and Mariana Fouilloux and Beatriz Zamora},
      title = {Reasons and Motivations for Procrastinating Academic Activities in First-Year Medical Students},
      journal = {American Journal of Applied Psychology},
      volume = {10},
      number = {3},
      pages = {82-88},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajap.20211003.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20211003.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajap.20211003.14},
      abstract = {The purpose of this research was to investigate the extent to which procrastination occurs in first-year medical students and the reasons for this behavior. It was a cross-sectional study conducted with 388 medical students from a public university in Mexico City. The Procrastination Assessment Scale-Students (PASS) was used. A descriptive analysis of procrastination behaviors and the reasons for their manifestation was carried out using frequencies and percentages. On the other hand, a comparative analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney U test for sex, age, and school of origin. In addition, Kruskal-Wallis and Bonferroni tests were performed for high school grade point average, mother's education, and the people with whom the students lived when applying the instrument. About 30% of the students reported postponing homework or studying, while 27% or less postpone other activities (e.g., tutoring or academic paperwork). As for the reasons why students delay their chores, the ones that stand out are: poor time management, feeling overwhelmed, laziness, frustration (because they think the task takes too much time), anxiety about the evaluation, perfectionism, and difficulty in making decisions when performing the task. As a result of the comparative analysis, it was found that younger people tend to procrastinate less than older people (Z= -2.42; p= .016) when postponing their homework. Males tend to do it more than females as a way of experiencing excitement when rebelling against control (Z= -2.76; p= .006) and taking risks (Z= -2.32; p= .020). However, female students tend to procrastinate more than males when they felt overwhelmed by academic work and the lack of time to carry it out (Z= -2.47; p= .013). In addition, those who attended private schools during high school tend to procrastinate more than those who attended public academies when they have doubts and require assistance but find it difficult to ask the teacher or other people (Z= -2.33; p= .020). In conclusion, the results of this work will help to know the motivation for postponing academic activities and the influences associated with delaying these responsibilities, and therefore, to develop proposals on dealing with bad practices.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Reasons and Motivations for Procrastinating Academic Activities in First-Year Medical Students
    AU  - María Martina Jurado
    AU  - Ileana Petra
    AU  - Norma Yepez
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    AU  - Beatriz Zamora
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    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20211003.14
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajap.20211003.14
    T2  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
    JF  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
    JO  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
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    EP  - 88
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-5672
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20211003.14
    AB  - The purpose of this research was to investigate the extent to which procrastination occurs in first-year medical students and the reasons for this behavior. It was a cross-sectional study conducted with 388 medical students from a public university in Mexico City. The Procrastination Assessment Scale-Students (PASS) was used. A descriptive analysis of procrastination behaviors and the reasons for their manifestation was carried out using frequencies and percentages. On the other hand, a comparative analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney U test for sex, age, and school of origin. In addition, Kruskal-Wallis and Bonferroni tests were performed for high school grade point average, mother's education, and the people with whom the students lived when applying the instrument. About 30% of the students reported postponing homework or studying, while 27% or less postpone other activities (e.g., tutoring or academic paperwork). As for the reasons why students delay their chores, the ones that stand out are: poor time management, feeling overwhelmed, laziness, frustration (because they think the task takes too much time), anxiety about the evaluation, perfectionism, and difficulty in making decisions when performing the task. As a result of the comparative analysis, it was found that younger people tend to procrastinate less than older people (Z= -2.42; p= .016) when postponing their homework. Males tend to do it more than females as a way of experiencing excitement when rebelling against control (Z= -2.76; p= .006) and taking risks (Z= -2.32; p= .020). However, female students tend to procrastinate more than males when they felt overwhelmed by academic work and the lack of time to carry it out (Z= -2.47; p= .013). In addition, those who attended private schools during high school tend to procrastinate more than those who attended public academies when they have doubts and require assistance but find it difficult to ask the teacher or other people (Z= -2.33; p= .020). In conclusion, the results of this work will help to know the motivation for postponing academic activities and the influences associated with delaying these responsibilities, and therefore, to develop proposals on dealing with bad practices.
    VL  - 10
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Psychiatry and Mental Health Department, Faculty of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico

  • Psychiatry and Mental Health Department, Faculty of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico

  • Psychiatry and Mental Health Department, Faculty of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico

  • Psychiatry and Mental Health Department, Faculty of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico

  • Psychiatry and Mental Health Department, Faculty of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico

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