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Abstract The present study was intended: first to measure the predictive association between procrastination and self-compassion among first born and last born university students; second to assess the differences on the variable of procrastination between first born and last born university students. A sample of 200 students (100 boys and 100 girls) was taken from different universities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The Procrastination Scale (Lay, 1986) and Self-Compassion Scale (Neff, 2003) were used. The data was analyzed using Regression Analyses and t-test. The results showed that self-compassion and its sub-scales of isolation and mindfulness significantly predicted procrastination in first born university students.
Further, self-compassion is found to be insignificant predictor of procrastination in last born university students whereas its sub-scale of kindness significantly predicted procrastination in last born university students. Furthermore, differences between the first born and last born university students on the variable of procrastination are found to be insignificant. Implications of the findings and avenues for future research are suggested.
Keywords: Procrastination, Self-Compassion, First Born, Last Born, INTRODUCTION Delaying takes away all the precious time that we have, unfortunately, we all are involved in this critical phenomenon. Procrastination is the intentional avoidance and irrational delay of behavior or tasks which need to be done and postponing today work till tomorrow (Steel, 2007). Procrastination not only affects individual's work but the individual persistently experiences the feelings of deficit, stress and guilt. Procrastination appears to be a self-defeating behavior pattern marked by short-term benefits and long term costs. It appears to reflect the human condition because it is presently widespread and has been reported for thousands of years (Ferrari, 1991; Solomon and Rothblum, 1984).
Lack of interest in any activity is usually the first step towards procrastination which in turn leads to some really poor outcomes. Delaying work leads to many problems in a student's life in general. He/she indulges in a useless activity resulting in a major waste of his/her precious time. Schouwenburg (1995) described that student procrastination is a result of three behavioral manifestations: 1) lack of promptness, either in intention or in behavior 2) intention-behavior discrepancy and 3) preference for competing activities. Individual can unconsciously delay tasks and engage in the unproductive repetitive behavior. The act may be threatening to the person's...