Three-week analysis of the relationship between general anxiety, stress, and procrastination

Abstract

Previous research examined the correlation of procrastination and different types of anxiety, such as state anxiety, test anxiety, and academic anxiety. One longitudinal study (Yerdelen, McCaffrey,& Klassen, 2016) looked specifically at academic anxiety. This study showed that there is actually an inverse relationship between procrastination and anxiety over time. We explored the relationship between high and low general anxiety levels, high and low stress levels, and high and low procrastination levels using the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale-21 (DASS 21) and The Lay Procrastination Scale (1986) in college students over a mid-semester threeweek long period. We hypothesized that, based on previous research; high general anxiety and high stress levels will be largely correlated to high procrastination levels. The participants were 30 Carroll College students. The results showed that stress and anxiety were correlated, stress and procrastination were correlated, but anxiety did not correlate directly with procrastination.