The Mediating Role of Procrastination in the Relationship between Perfectionism Pathologies and Depression/Anxiety Symptoms

The aim of the present study was to examine the mediating role of procrastination in the relationship between perfectionism pathologies and depression/anxiety symptoms. Five hundred and twenty eight students of Tehran university (274 females, 254 males) completed the Tehran Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (Besharat, 2007), the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (Lavibond & Lavibond, 1995), and the Pure Procrastination Scale (PPS; Steel, 2010). The results indicated that the hypothesized model had a good fit with the observed data. The relationships among other-oriented perfectionism and socially prescribed perfectionism, procrastination, and depression/anxiety symptoms were significantly positive. The results of path analysis indicated that procrastination mediated the association between perfectionism pathologies and depression/anxiety symptoms. The findings suggest that perfectionism pathologies and procrastination were associated with the severity of depression and anxiety symptoms. Considering perfectionism pathologies and procrastination are important in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of depression and anxiety symptoms as well as in promoting mental health among general population.