The Effects of High School Students’ Consideration of Future Consequences, Self-Control on Active Procrastination and Passive Procrastination

Abstract

This study aimed to examine how the contemplation of future consequences and the exercise of self-control affected active and passive procrastination behaviors evinced by high school students. A total of 510 high school students from Seoul and Gyeonggi province participated in this study. A questionnaire that queried the components of the consideration of future consequences, self-control, as well as active and passive procrastination was administered to the participants. The obtained data were analyzed using correlation and path analyses. The study yielded the following significant results: The consideration of future consequences was found to indirectly influence active and passive procrastination through the element of self-control. High scores in the sub-scale CFC-Future prompted higher self-control which, in turn, caused higher active procrastination and lower passive procrastination. Higher tallies in the sub-scale CFC-immediate were found to initiate lower self-control which, in turn, generated lower active procrastination and higher passive procrastination. In conclusion, the present investigation confirmed that the cognition of future consequences and the application of self-control affect both active and passive forms of procrastination. The outcomes of this study can contribute significantly to a more comprehensive understanding of the manners in which the thinking of future consequences influences active and passive procrastination behaviors exhibited by high school students. The results of this study can be used as a basis for prospective investigations into the theme of procrastination during adolescence.