Prevalence of Academic Procrastination Among Medical Students and Its Relationship with Their Academic Achievement

Abstract

Background: Procrastination is prevalent among university students and it affects different aspects of their personal and academic life. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of academic procrastination among medical students and its relationship with their academic achievement. Methods: This is a cross-sectional correlational study of 317 medical students at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. To collect the data, we used Solomon and Rothblum academic procrastination questionnaire (1984). The questionnaire’s validity and reliability were confirmed by experts. We used descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (Pearson correlation coefficient, Independent t-test, and one-way analysis of variance) to analyze the data by SPSS version 14. Results: The results showed that 29.25% of the students had academic procrastination (nearly always or always). Moreover, 47.9% of the students stated that academic procrastination at a moderate level had caused a lot of problems for them. There was a significant negative relationship between academic procrastination and academic achievement in medical students (P < 0.01). Male students and those living in the dormitory had higher levels of procrastination than females and those living at home (P < 0.01). Conclusions: The findings of the present study revealed that a considerable number of students had high levels of procrastination, leading to permanent problems and reduced academic achievement.