Between Intentions and Actions: A Pilot Study of General and Decisional Procrastination in Southern Italian University Students

Background: Procrastination among university students may be associated with self-evaluative beliefs and anxiety. This study examined general and decisional procrastination alongside self-esteem, self-efficacy, state anxiety, worry, and emotionality in Southern Italian university students. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 343 students completed measures of these constructs. Associations were examined using correlations and an observed-variable path model; indirect effects were assessed with 1000 bootstrap resamples. Results: The model yielded χ2(3) = 1.40, p = 0.06, CFI = 1.000, and RMSEA = 0.000. Because it had only three degrees of freedom, these fit indices provide a limited test of the specified paths. Self-esteem was positively associated with self-efficacy and negatively associated with both forms of procrastination. Self-efficacy was negatively associated with general procrastination; its estimated path to decisional procrastination was small (β = −0.064, 95% bootstrap CI [−0.167, 0.045]). Worry had a positive conditional association with decisional procrastination. Indirect associations through self-efficacy were supported for self-esteem and worry in relation to general procrastination, but not for the other examined pathways. Conclusions: Self-evaluative beliefs and worry showed distinct associations with general and decisional procrastination in this sample. The cross-sectional paths do not establish causal direction. Because the procrastination measures assess general behaviour and decision delay, the findings are not direct evidence about academic procrastination.