Predictive role of academic self-efficacy in academic procrastination among university students

Introduction

The importance of education has become increasingly significant in today's rapidly changing world, as it contributes not only to the acquisition of knowledge but also to the intellectual, emotional, social and personal development of individuals. Education enables learners to develop confidence, independence, problem-solving abilities and the skills required to respond effectively to the challenges of everyday life. The National Education Policy (2020) emphasizes holistic education that extends beyond cognitive development and aims to develop well-rounded individuals equipped with essential twenty-first-century competencies such as communication, collaboration, resilience and critical thinking. In higher education, students are expected to take greater responsibility for their learning, manage academic demands independently and demonstrate persistence in achieving educational goals. However, despite the recognized importance of education, students frequently encounter behavioural and psychological difficulties that may interfere with effective academic functioning. One such difficulty that has attracted considerable attention is academic procrastination. Academic procrastination refers to the unnecessary or intentional postponement of an academic activity despite being aware that delaying the task may result in undesirable consequences (Shahi et al., 2026) [1] . It is commonly observed when students postpone assignments, examination preparation, reading activities, term papers, project work and other academic responsibilities even when a specific deadline has been established. Academic procrastination therefore represents a recurring pattern of delaying academic tasks rather than simply an occasional postponement of work. Although students may sometimes delay their activities because of competing responsibilities or unexpected circumstances, persistent procrastination can become a self-defeating behavioural pattern that interferes with effective learning and academic development. Academic procrastination has become an important concern because of its potential consequences for students' academic and personal functioning. Students who repeatedly postpone academic activities may ulti mately be required to complete their work within limited periods, resulting in last-minute preparation, hurried performance and inadequate attention to the quality of their work. Such behaviour may be accompanied by academic stress, anxiety, guilt, frustration, reduced motivation, poor time management and dissatisfaction with academic performance. Continued procrastination can also interfere with students' ability to achieve their educational goals and may negatively influence their confidence in handling academic responsibilities. Thus, academic procrastination is not merely a problem associated with delaying a particular assignment; when it becomes persistent, it can influence students' learning behaviour, academic adjustment and overall educational success. Because of these undesirable consequences, understanding the factors that contribute to academic procrastination and identifying variables that can predict its occurrence are important for developing appropriate educational and psychological interventions. Students' academic procrastination may be influenced by several personal, motivational and academic factors. One of the important psychological factors associated with students' academic behaviour is academic self-efficacy. Early theoretical perspectives on motivation and self-regulated behaviour emphasize the importance of individuals' beliefs about their capabilities in determining how they approach tasks, how much effort they invest and how persistently they respond to difficulties. Self-efficacy refers to an individual's belief in his or her capability to organize and execute the actions required to attain particular goals (Bandura, 1997) [2] . Academic self-efficacy represents a specific form of self-efficacy and refers to students' beliefs regarding their ability to successfully perform academic tasks and achieve desired educational outcomes. In other words, it reflects what students believe about their own academic capabilities and whether they perceive themselves as capable of managing and completing academic responsibilities successfully. The concept of academic self-efficacy is primarily grounded in Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory, which emphasizes the reciprocal interaction among personal factors, behaviour and environmental influences. According to Bandura (1997) [2] , self-efficacy beliefs influence individuals' choices, motivation, effort, persistence and emotional reactions when they encounter challenging situations. In the academic context, students' beliefs about their capabilities may therefore determine how they approach difficult assignments, examinations, projects and other educational activities. Students possessing strong academic self-efficacy are more likely to perceive demanding academic tasks as manageable and to make greater efforts to complete them. Conversely, students with lower academic self-efficacy may experience self-doubt regarding their ability to perform successfully and may consequently avoid or postpone activities that they perceive as difficult. Academic self-efficacy is different from broader psychological concepts such as self-esteem and self-concept. Self-esteem generally reflects an individual's evaluation of his or her overall worth, whereas self-concept represents a broader perception of oneself. Academic self-efficacy, in contrast, concerns students' judgments about their capability to perform particular academic activities successfully. These beliefs may vary according to the nature and difficulty of the academic task, previous learning experiences and the degree of confidence students have developed through their academic experiences. Thus, a student may possess strong academic self-efficacy in one subject or type of academic activity while experiencing relatively lower confidence in another. Such differences in perceived academic capability can influence students' motivation, engagement, persistence and willingness to undertake academic responsibilities. Several studies have emphasized the importance of academic self-efficacy in students' learning and academic functioning. Linnenbrink et al. (2003) [3] reported that academic self-efficacy is associated with students' motivation, cognitive engagement, learning strategies, persistence and academic achievement. Students with higher academic self-efficacy tend to approach academic activities with greater confidence and determination and are more likely to establish meaningful academic goals and persist when difficulties arise. Bandura (1993) [4] further explained that students with strong efficacy beliefs are more likely to remain resilient following setbacks because they tend to interpret unsuccessful outcomes as opportunities to modify their effort or strategies rather than as evidence of an inability to succeed. In contrast, students with low academic self-efficacy may avoid challenging tasks, experience fear of failure, demonstrate reduced persistence and become more vulnerable to negative emotional responses. These characteristics may create conditions in which students are more likely to postpone academic responsibilities. The relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic procrastination can therefore be understood in terms of students' motivation, self-regulation and perceived ability to manage academic demands. Students who believe that they possess the necessary capabilities to complete an academic task may be more willing to begin the task on time and continue working despite difficulties. Strong academic self-efficacy can encourage students to establish goals, regulate their behaviour, monitor their progress and employ appropriate strategies for completing academic activities. On the other hand, students who doubt their academic capabilities may perceive difficult tasks as threatening, experience greater hesitation in initiating them and adopt avoidance or delay as a means of coping with academic demands. Consequently, academic self-efficacy may function as an important psychological factor in explaining and predicting students' tendency to procrastinate. Several previous investigations have reported a negative relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic procrastination, indicating that students with stronger beliefs in their academic capabilities tend to demonstrate lower levels of procrastinating behaviour. Research has also indicated that academic self-efficacy can contribute to students' academic motivation, persistence and ability to manage academic difficulties. In this regard, examining academic self-efficacy as a predictor rather than merely as a correlate of academic procrastination may provide a clearer understanding of the role played by students' perceived academic capabilities in delaying academic responsibilities. Since academic self-efficacy is a potentially developable psychological characteristic, identifying its predictive contribution may also have practical significance for educational institutions and student-support programmes. Despite the growing recognition of academic procrastination as an important academic concern, further research is required to understand the psychological factors that predict this behaviour among university students. In particular, examining academic self-efficacy may provide important insight into why some students initiate and complete academic responsibilities in a timely manner, whereas others repeatedly postpone them despite being aware of the possible consequences. Understanding this relationship is particularly important in higher education, where students are increasingly expected to demonstrate independence, self-regulation, responsibility and effective management of their academic activities. Therefore, assessing the predictive role of academic self-efficacy may contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of academic procrastination and may provide a basis for developing strategies to strengthen students' confidence and academic self-regulatory abilities. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the predictive role of academic self-efficacy in academic procrastination among university students. The study aims to determine whether academic self-efficacy significantly predicts students' academic procrastination and to understand the extent to which students' beliefs about their academic capabilities are associated with their tendency to delay academic responsibilities. The findings of this study may contribute to the existing body of knowledge concerning academic self-efficacy and academic procrastination and may enhance the understanding of educators, counsellors, higher education administrators and policymakers regarding the psychological factors underlying students' procrastinating behaviour. Furthermore, the findings may provide a basis for planning appropriate academic and psychological interventions aimed at strengthening academic self-efficacy, improving self-regula tion, encouraging timely engagement with academic tasks and ultimately reducing academic procrastination among students.

Research objectives

The study has two main objectives. The first objective is to assess the level of academic procrastination and academic self-efficacy among university students in Kanpur City. The second objective is to determine the predictive role of academic self-efficacy in academic procrastination among university students in Kanpur City.

Methods

Design and setting

This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on 300 students of Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture & Technology, Harcourt Butler Technical University and Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India during the period from April to December 2025.

Selection of participants

The participants for the present study were drawn from the population of university students enrolled in degree programmes at selected universities in Kanpur City. The study included students from three universities of Kanpur, namely Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Harcourt Butler Technical University and Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. A total of 300 students participated in the study, with an equal representation of male and female students, comprising 150 males and 150 females. The participants were selected through purposive sampling based on the requirements of the study. Students who were available at the time of data collection and expressed their willingness to participate were included in the sample. Before administering the research instruments, the participants were informed about the purpose of the study and were assured that their responses would remain confidential and would be used exclusively for research purposes.

Instrument

The data for the present study were collected using two standardized research instruments, namely the Procrastination Assessment Scale-Students (PASS) and the Academic Self-Efficacy Scale.

Procrastination Assessment Scale-Students (PASS):

The PASS developed by Solomon et al. (1984) [5] was used to assess the level of academic procrastination among the respondents. The scale measures students' tendency to delay or postpone academic activities and provides an overall assessment of academic procrastination. The instrument has established psychometric properties and has been widely used for assessing academic procrastination among students.

Ethical considerations

Before administering the research instruments, the respondents were provided with information regarding the purpose and nature of the study. They were informed that participation was voluntary and that they could discontinue their participation at any point without facing any negative consequences. Adequate measures were taken to main-tain the privacy and confidentiality of the information provided by the respondents throughout the stages of data collection, processing and analysis. The data obtained from the respondents were used solely for academic and research purposes.

Data analysis

Following the completion of data collection, the responses were organized, coded and tabulated for statistical analysis. Descriptive and inferential statistical procedures were employed in accordance with the objectives of the study. Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficient was applied to determine the nature and strength of the relationship between academic procrastination and academic self-efficacy. In addition, simple linear regression analysis was performed to determine the predictive contribution of academic self-efficacy to academic procrastination. For all inferential analyses, the level of statistical significance was considered at p < 0.05.

Results

Demographics of the study

A total of 300 respondents constituted the sample of the present study. The age-wise distribution of the respondents, as presented in Figure 1, shows that the largest proportion (72.00%) was within the 21-23 years age category. This was followed by respondents aged above 23 years, who accounted for 20.33 percent of the total sample. A relatively smaller proportion (7.67%) belonged to the 18-20 years age group. The findings therefore indicate that the sample was largely concentrated in the 21-23 years age range, while students in the youngest age category constituted a comparatively limited share of the respondents. The distribution of respondents according to the course pursued is presented in Figure 2. The findings indicate that postgraduate students constituted the largest proportion of the sample, accounting for 30.33 percent of the respondents. This was followed by students enrolled in four-year undergraduate programmes, who represented 16.67 percent of the sample. B.A. L.L.B. students accounted for 15.00 percent of the respondents, followed by BCA students with 13.33 percent. Further, 13.33 percent of the respondents were pursuing three-year undergraduate programmes, while 8.00 percent were enrolled in twoyear undergraduate programmes. Ph.D. scholars constituted the smallest proportion of the sample, accounting for 3.33 percent of the total respondents. The course-wise distribution thus reflects participation from students enrolled across diverse undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, with comparatively greater representation from postgraduate and four-year undergraduate programmes. A comparison of the descriptive statistics shows that academic self-efficacy (124.86 ± 18.94) exhibited greater variability than academic procrastination, as indicated by its higher standard deviation than academic procrastination (52.45 ± 9.71). With respect to dispersion, academic self-efficacy exhibited greater variability than academic procrastination, as indicated by its higher standard deviation. The descriptive findings thus provide an overall account of the central tendency and variability of academic procrastination and academic selfefficacy among the university students included in the present study.

The descriptive findings of the present study are supported by Tian et al. (2024) [6] , who examined academic procrastination and academic self-efficacy among 388 undergraduate students in local technology universities in China. Their findings indicated that academic procrastination was prevalent at a moderate level, while academic self-efficacy was reported at a relatively high level, demonstrating variation in students' academic behaviours and efficacy beliefs. Similarly, Boriek (2023) [7] , in a study involving 202 first-year undergraduate students, reported a high level of perceived self-efficacy and observed variations in different dimensions of academic procrastination among the respondents. In another study, Ashraf et al. (2023) [8] investigated 405 university students and found significant associations between self-efficacy and academic procrastination, highlighting the importance of individual differences in students' academic confidence and their tendency to delay academic tasks. These findings are broadly consistent with the present study and support the observation that university students demonstrate considerable variability in academic selfefficacy and academic procrastination. The convergence of findings across different university settings further suggests that differences in students perceived academic capabilities and procrastinating tendencies are important aspects of academic functioning. 2 illustrates the relationship between academic procrastination and academic self-efficacy among the university students. Pearson's product-moment correlation analysis revealed a negative and highly significant relationship between academic procrastination and aca-demic self-efficacy (r = -0.923, p 0.001). The findings indicate that the two variables were strongly associated with each other, with higher levels of academic self-efficacy corresponding to lower levels of academic procrastination.

Figure 4. Correlation between academic procrastination and academic self-efficacy among the respondents

The magnitude of the correlation coefficient indicates a strong inverse association between academic procrastination and academic self-efficacy. The relationship was statistically significant at the 0.01 level (2tailed), demonstrating that the observed association was unlikely to have occurred by chance. The negative direction of the correlation suggests that students who possessed stronger beliefs in their academic capabilities tended to exhibit lower tendencies to postpone or delay academic activities. The findings further indicate that academic self-efficacy may play an important role in understanding variations in academic procrastination among university students. Students with greater confidence in their ability to successfully accomplish academic tasks may be more likely to initiate and sustain academic activities, whereas those with comparatively lower academic self-efficacy may be more vulnerable to hesitation, avoidance and delay in completing academic responsibilities. Thus, the significant inverse relationship observed in the present study suggests that academic self-efficacy is closely associated with academic procrastination among university students. The present findings are consistent with earlier research demonstrating an inverse association between academic self-efficacy and academic procrastination. Previous studies have indicated that students who possess stronger beliefs regarding their academic capabilities are more likely to demonstrate greater persistence, self-regulation and engagement in academic tasks, thereby reducing their tendency to postpone academic responsibilities. In contrast, lower academic self-efficacy has been associated with self-doubt, avoidance of challenging academic activities and greater susceptibility to procrastination. The findings of the present study therefore reinforce the importance of academic self-efficacy in understanding academic procrastination among university students. The findings of the present study are supported by Uma et al. (2020) [9] , who investigated academic procrastination and self-efficacy among 361 dental undergraduate students in Malaysia. Their findings revealed a statistically significant negative relationship between academic procrastination and self-efficacy (r = -0.238, p 0.001), indicating that students with higher levels of self-efficacy tended to report lower levels of academic procrastination. Although the strength of the association observed in their study was lower than that found in the present investigation, the direction of the relationship was consistent. This convergence suggests that stronger beliefs in one's academic capabilities may be associated with a reduced tendency to postpone academic responsibilities among university students. Table 3 presents the ANOVA results of the simple linear regression analysis conducted to determine whether academic self-efficacy significantly predicts academic procrastination among the respondents. The findings reveal that the regression model was statistically significant, F(1, 298) = 1708.641, p 0.001. The regression sum of squares was 24008.990, whereas the residual sum of squares was 4187.353. The statistically significant F-value indicates that academic self-efficacy significantly contributed to explaining the variation in academic procrastination among the respondents. The findings therefore provide evidence that academic self-efficacy is a significant predictor of academic procrastination. The negative direction of the relationship indicates that higher levels of academic self-efficacy were associated with lower levels of academic procrastination.

The regression findings of the present study are consistent with the findings of Svartdal et al. (2022) [10] , who examined the relationship between study self-efficacy and procrastination across three student samples comprising a total of 752 participants. Their structural equa-tion modelling results demonstrated that study self-efficacy was significantly associated with lower levels of procrastination. The authors concluded that efficacy beliefs related to academic functioning play an important role in explaining students' procrastinating behaviour. Similarly, the significant regression model obtained in the present study indicates that academic self-efficacy contributes significantly to explaining variation in academic procrastination among university students. 4 presents the regression coefficients for academic self-efficacy in predicting academic procrastination among the respondents. Academic self-efficacy was found to be a negative and statistically significant predictor of academic procrastination (B = -0.473, β = -0.923, t = -41.336, p 0.001). The negative regression coefficient indicates that a one-unit increase in academic self-efficacy was associated with an estimated 0.473-unit decrease in academic procrastination.

The constant was also statistically significant (B = 6.631, t = 4.587, p 0.001). The standardized beta coefficient (β = -0.923) indicates a strong negative predictive association between academic self-efficacy and academic procrastination. These findings suggest that students with stronger beliefs in their academic capabilities tended to report lower levels of academic procrastination. Overall, the regression findings demonstrate that academic self-efficacy significantly predicted academic procrastination among the university students. The negative direction of the regression coefficient further indicates that improvement in academic self-efficacy may be associated with a reduction in students' tendency to postpone or delay academic responsibilities.

The predictive findings of the present study are supported by Klassen et al. (2008) [11] , who investigated academic procrastination among 456 undergraduate students. Their findings demonstrated that self-efficacy-related variables were significantly associated with procrastination, with self-efficacy for self-regulation emerging as the strongest individual predictor of procrastination. The authors further reported that students with stronger efficacy beliefs regarding their ability to regulate their academic behaviour were less likely to exhibit procrastination tendencies. Similarly, Purnomo et al. (2024) [12] examined the role of self-efficacy in academic procrastination among university students using simple regression analysis and reported that self-efficacy significantly contributed to students' procrastinating behaviour. Karakaya Özyer and Altınsoy (2023) [13] , in a sample of 498 university students, likewise found that academic self-efficacy was negatively associated with academic procrastination and played a buffering role in the relationship between problematic internet use and procrastination. These findings are consistent with the present regression results, which demonstrate that stronger academic self-efficacy is associated with a reduced tendency to postpone academic responsibilities. The consistency of these findings across different student populations strengthens the interpretation that academic self-efficacy is an important predictor of academic procrastination.

Conclusion

The present study concludes that academic procrastination was predominantly observed at a moderate level among university respondents of Kanpur city. The majority of respondents demonstrated a moderate level of academic self-efficacy. Academic procrastination was found to have a strong negative and statistically significant relationship with academic self-efficacy, indicating that students with higher levels of academic self-efficacy tended to report lower levels of academic procrastination. The findings further suggest that students' beliefs in their academic capabilities are closely associated with their tendency to initiate, manage and complete academic responsibilities in a timely manner. The findings highlight the importance of academic self-efficacy in understanding academic procrastination among university students.

Strengthening students' confidence in their academic capabilities, together with appropriate academic guidance, self-regulation strategies and support for effective task management, may help reduce procrastinating tendencies. Therefore, university-based student-support initiatives may benefit from incorporating activities that enhance academic self-efficacy and encourage students to approach academic responsibilities with greater confidence, persistence and self-regulation.

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