Explaining Academic Procrastination Based on Rumination and Emotional Self-Awareness

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to examine the impact of rumination and emotional self-awareness on academic procrastination among students.

Methods and Materials: This descriptive-correlational study was conducted on 250 high school students from District 1 of Tabriz’s Department of Education in the 2023-2024 academic year. Participants were selected using convenience sampling and completed the Tuckman Academic Procrastination Scale (1989), the Rumination Response Scale by Nolen-Hoeksema and Morrow (1991), and the Emotional Self-Awareness Questionnaire by Grant et al. (2002). Data analysis was performed using Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis in SPSS version 26.

Findings: The results indicated that rumination had a significant positive correlation with academic procrastination (r = 0.62, p < 0.001), while emotional self-awareness had a significant negative correlation with academic procrastination (r = -0.57, p < 0.001). Multiple regression analysis revealed that rumination (β = -0.45, p < 0.001) and emotional self-awareness (β = 0.38, p < 0.001) were significant predictors of academic procrastination, with the regression model explaining 52% of the variance in academic procrastination (R² = 0.52, F = 25.78, p < 0.001).

Conclusion: These findings suggest that rumination, as a maladaptive cognitive process, increases academic procrastination, whereas emotional self-awareness can reduce procrastination by improving emotional regulation. Therefore, enhancing emotional self-awareness and reducing rumination through educational and psychological interventions may serve as effective strategies for improving students’ academic performance.