A Study of Academic Procrastinators at the Affiliated High School of National ChengChi University

Abstract

Academic procrastination of students of all ages can cause stress, anxiety, mental breakdowns, and many more psychological conditions. This study aimed to discover the degrees of procrastination on different types of schoolwork; revealed the impact of procrastination on students’ mental health; determined the main causes of procrastination behavior; challenged stereotypes and misconceptions about procrastinators and proposed an intervention plan for high school students. 
 This research focused on 11th-grade students at AHSNCCU and was conducted through in-depth individual interviews. We designed a questionnaire with 13 questions and analyzed the answers from 6 female procrastinators. Through this research, we concluded that students are less likely to procrastinate on group projects because peer pressure and other people’s perceptions of them are influential to their behaviors. As for the causes of procrastination, we identified many reasons including the fear of failure, fear of stepping out of their comfort zones, and the lack of motivation (which is mentioned most). The common stereotype of procrastinators – procrastinators’ lack of time managing skills -- is challenged because we spot deeper reasons and fears behind their procrastinating.
 Also, our research suggests the belief that procrastinators get bad grades is unreliable as many of our interviewees received decent grades and still procrastinate. To conclude the research, we proposed intervention activities such as journaling, freewriting, and meditating. In addition, we put up posters regarding the causes and effects of procrastination with intervention activities to raise awareness of academic procrastination and provide a helping hand for those in misery from it.