A Causal Model of the Relationship between Student's Need for Closure and Academic Achievement with Regard to the Mediating Role of Achievement Goals and Academic Procrastination

This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of achievement goals and academic procrastination in the relationship between need for closure and academic achievement in the framework of causal path analysis method. For this purpose, 425 students (243 females and 182 males) of Fars Payam Noor University were chosen by means of multistage cluster sampling method. They responded to a self-report questionnaire consisting of need for closure (NFCS), Achievement Goals (AGS), and Academic Procrastination (PASS) scales. The Students’ final scores at the end of the semester were considered as indicators of their academic achievement. Method of the study was descriptive and due to the study of the relationships between variables in the framework of path analysis causal model, correlation research design was used. The results generally demonstrated that need for closure dimensions have indirect negative significant effects on students’ academic achievement through the mediation of achievement goals and academic procrastination. Findings indicated that both dimensions of need for closure (preference for structure and preference for certainty) influence academic achievement negatively, mediated through achievement goals and academic procrastination. Moreover, the results showed that in the fitted model of the study mastery goals have the most direct and positive effect on academic achievement.