Investigation of Academic Procrastination and its Dimensions and its Relationship with Academic Performance among Students of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Iran

Procrastination is often described as a deliberate and irrational delay. It is prevalent among students all over the world. The aim of this was study to determine the prevalence of academic procrastination among the students of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Iran, in the academic year 2014-2015 and its correlation with academic performance.
This cross-sectional study was carried on 150 medical, nursing, and midwifery students living in the dormitory of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. The subjects were selected through non-probability sampling. The data collection tool used was the Academic Procrastination Scale (APS) designed by Solomon and Rothblum. The total reliability of the PAS and the reliability of its subscales were determined using Cronbach’s alpha (range: 0.41-0.78). The data were analyzed using chi-square test and multiple regression analysis.
According to the results, the prevalence of procrastination and its dimensions were 35.3%, 28.0%, 30.7%, and 31.3%, respectively. The chi-square test also showed that procrastination in assignments, articles and essays preparation, and the total score of procrastination had a meaningful negative correlation with the academic performance of the nursing and obstetric students (P The present study results indicated procrastination as the most common cause of reduction of academic performance among students. Therefore, complementary studies are needed to investigate the causes of academic procrastination.