Components of perfectionism and procrastination in college students

In the present research we examined the relationships between individual differences in perfectionism and procrastinatory behavior in college students. A sample of 131 students (56 males, 75 females) completed measures of self-oriented, other-oriented, and socially prescribed perfectionism, as well as measures of academic procrastination and general procrastination. Participants also completed ratings of factors related to procrastination (i.e., fear of failure, task aversiveness). Correlational analyses revealed it was the socially prescribed perfectionism dimension that was most closely correlated with both generalized procrastination and academic procrastination, especially among males. There were few significant correlations involving self-oriented and other-oriented perfectionism. However, the fear of failure component of procrastination was associated broadly with all the perfectionism dimensions. Overall, the results suggest that procrastination stems, in part, from the anticipation of social disapproval from individuals with perfectionistic standards for others.