Investigating the relationships of metacognitions, perfectionism, self-efficacy, trait anxiety, cognitive-behavioral avoidance and depression with general procrastination in adults with mediation analyses within the framework of metacognitive theory

Procrastination is defined as voluntarily delaying a task even though it is against one's interests and it is known that approximately 15-20% of adults suffer from chronic procrastination. According to metacognitive theory, procrastination is a self-regulation problem, thus, it offers a holistic perspective on procrastination. In the present study, it was aimed to examine the relationships of self-efficacy, perfectionism, metacognitions, trait anxiety, cognitive-behavioral avoidance and depression with general procrastination within the framework of metacognitive theory. For this purpose, data were collected from 284 female (193) and male (91) participants between the ages of 18-65 by using Demographic Information Form, General Procrastination Scale, Metacognitions Questionnare-30, General Self-Efficacy Scale, Trait Anxiety Inventory, Cognitive-Behavioral Avoidance Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and The Big Three Perfectionism Scale-16. Data were analyzed with SPSS v.25 and PROCESS v.4.1. Accordingly, correlation analysis, two-way ANCOVA and mediation analyses were conducted. To the correlation analysis findings, it was observed that general procrastination was negatively correlated with age. According to the two-way ANCOVA findings, when the effect of age was controlled, procrastination scores did not differ significantly between the groups formed according to gender, student status and employment status. As a result of mediation analyses, it was found that the serial mediation of trait anxiety and lack of cognitive confidence in the relationship between self-efficacy and general procrastination, and the serial mediation of lack of cognitive confidence and depression was significant in the relationship between self-critical perfectionism and general procrastination. In the relationship between positive metacognitive beliefs about worry and general procrastination, the serial mediation of trait anxiety, uncontrollability and danger metacognitions and depression was significant, but the serial mediation effect of cognitive-behavioral avoidance, lack of cognitive confidence and depression was not significant. In conclusion, the relationships examined within the framework of metacognitive theory provided important findings regarding the mechanism of procrastination. In the last chapter, findings were evaluated within the framework of metacognitive theory, strengths and limitations of the study were discussed, and suggestions for future studies were made.