Procrastination as a Mediator in the Relation between Negative Urgency, Stress and Academic Achievement

Background: Self-caused stressors (dependent stressors) are transdiagnostic risk factors for psychopathology. A variety of factors predict the generation of dependent stressors, including a facet of impulsivity called negative urgency, which is the tendency to act rashly when experiencing negative affect. Importantly, negative urgency may also manifest as impulsive inaction, and thus may be related to procrastination. Impulsivity as a whole predicts procrastination, and procrastination is also associated with greater perceived stress. As few studies have investigated how procrastination may predict stressful life events, as well as how negative urgency may present as impulsive inaction, we sought to test these relations directly through mediation models. Overall, we aimed to better understand the antecedents of dependent stressors and academic outcomes.