Association Between Personality Traits and Procrastination and the Mediating Effect of Emotional Intelligence in Lebanese Medical Students

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the relationship between personality traits and procrastination and the mediating role of emotional intelligence (EI) among a sample of Lebanese medical students.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between June and December 2019. A total of 296 students filled out a questionnaire that consisted of sociodemographic characteristics and the following scales: Procrastination Assessment Scale for Students, Big Five Personality Test, and Quick Emotional Intelligence Self-Assessment Scale.Results: Since no bivariate associations were found between sociodemographic variables, they were not included in the mediation analysis. EI mediated the association between neuroticism and procrastination. Neuroticism was significantly associated with lower EI (P < .01) and lower procrastination (P < .001), whereas higher EI was significantly associated with lower procrastination (P < .001). EI mediated the association between openness to experience and procrastination. Openness to experience was significantly associated with higher EI and higher procrastination (P < .001), whereas higher EI was significantly associated with lower procrastination (P < .001).Conclusions: The results emphasize the role of EI in personality and procrastination and highlight its importance in clinical settings. It is important for clinicians, especially school and university counselors, to identify risk factors beyond low levels of adaptive personality traits such as EI within the clinical setting to reduce irrational procrastination and improve academic performance.