Abstract

Much is known about the antecedents and outcomes of procrastination when comparing students to one another. However, little is known about the antecedents and outcomes of procrastination when comparing the courses taken by the students during a semester. In this study, we proposed that examining procrastination at both levels of analysis should improve our understanding of the academic experience of students. At both levels, we examined the mediating role of procrastination in the associations between two dimensions of motivation and indicators of academic achievement and well-being. A sample of 359 university students completed questionnaires measuring their motivation, procrastination, and affect in each of their courses. The official final course grades were obtained at the end of the semester. Multilevel mediation analyses with structural equation modeling were conducted to test our hypotheses. At the between-person level, the indirect effects revealed that higher controlled motivation was significantly associated with worse outcomes via higher levels of procrastination. At the within-person level, the indirect effects revealed that lower autonomous motivation was significantly associated with worse outcomes via higher levels of procrastination. Overall, this study shows that different pathways at each level of analysis may explain how procrastination can be detrimental for the success and well-being of university students.