The association of perfectionism and active procrastination in college students

It has been shown that perfectionism is a precursor to passive procrastination, which is a form of self-regulation failure, but little is known about the role of perfectionism in active procrastination. Thus, we sought to determine the relationship of high standards and discrepancy with active procrastination, which is a functional form of procrastination linked to better academic performance and psychological well-being. A convenience sample of 175 undergraduate students completed the Almost Perfect Scale-Revised and the Active Procrastination Scale. The results show there was a negative correlation between discrepancy and active procrastination. Students who perceived a larger discrepancy between their own performance goals and their actual performance were less likely to procrastinate actively. This suggests that the influence of perfectionism on procrastination may extend to active procrastination. Therefore, the implementation of interventions aimed at reducing individuals’ perfectionistic tendencies is of great importance.