Less Adaptive or More Maladaptive? A Meta–analytic Investigation of Procrastination and Coping
Abstract
Despite the theoretical and empirical accounts of trait procrastination as reflecting avoidance of aversive tasks as a means of mood repair, research documenting its links to coping is scarce and inconsistent. There is also little if any research to date examining whether coping strategies might explain the procrastination–stress relationship. The current research aimed to address these issues by integrating current research on procrastination and coping with our own data into a first meta–analysis of the associations of procrastination with adaptive and maladaptive coping and then testing the potential role of coping for understanding the procrastination–stress relationship. In Study 1, a literature search yielded five published papers and three theses, which were supplemented by seven unpublished data sets comprising 15 samples ( N = 4357). Meta–analyses revealed that procrastination was positively associated with maladaptive coping (average r = .31) and negatively associated with adaptive coping (average r = −.24). In Study 2, a meta–analysis of the indirect effects through coping across four samples revealed that the average indirect effects for maladaptive but not adaptive coping explained the link between procrastination and stress. These findings expand the nomological network of procrastination and highlight the role of maladaptive coping for understanding procrastinators‘ stress. Copyright © 2015 European Association of Personality Psychology
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Trait procrastination demonstrates moderate-sized associations with avoidant coping.
“trait procrastination demonstrates moderate-sized associations with avoidant coping, (Sirois & Kitner, 2015)”
From A Meta–Analytic and Conceptual Update on the Associations between Procrastination and Multidimensional Perfectionism (2017) · cites this paper as Sirois & Kitner, 2015
Chronic procrastinators tend to use less adaptive coping strategies.
“Evidence also indicates that chronic procrastinators tend to use less adaptive coping strategies (Sirois & Kitner, 2015)”
From A Meta–Analytic and Conceptual Update on the Associations between Procrastination and Multidimensional Perfectionism (2017) · cites this paper as Sirois & Kitner, 2015
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You want to measure coping but your protocol’ too long: Consider the brief cope
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Adicción a redes sociales y procrastinación académica en estudiantes universitarios de Lima
Lunahuana Rosales, M. A. (2025) · Universidad Científica del Sur · doi:10.21142/tm.2023.3494
“La procrastinación académica es un problema que se ha asociado a resultados académicos negativos (Sirois & Kitner, 2015) en tanto implica un desperdicio de recursos en tiempo y oportunidades de aprendizaje para los jóvenes que en cursos de modalidad virtual se han hecho aún más evidentes (Cheng &…”
- Authors
- Sirois, F. M., & Kitner, R.
- Affiliations
- Bishop's University (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Sirois, Fuschia M.
- ORCID
- Sirois, Fuschia M.
- Venue
- European Journal of Personality
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2015-07
- Volume
- 29
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 433-444
- ISSN
- 0890-2070 (ISSN-L)
- 1099-0984
- OpenAlex
- W2148859270
- Cited by
- 143
- References
- 18
- Citations by year
- 2026: 18 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 3
- FWCI
- 13.66
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- European Journal of Personality (publishedVersion)
- White Rose Research Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York) (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (410-2005-0094, 950-224085)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Perfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Student Stress and Coping
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Stress and Burnout Research
- Keywords
- trait procrastination, coping strategies, adaptive coping, maladaptive coping, stress, indirect effects, mood repair
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