Procrastination and intentions to perform health behaviors: The role of self-efficacy and the consideration of future consequences

Abstract

The present study sought to extend previous research suggesting a relationship between trait procrastination and health behaviors by examining the behavioral intentions of procrastinators. Two cognitive variables (self-efficacy and the consideration of future consequences) were proposed to mediate the procrastination–intentions relationship. Students (n=182) were administered personality and health-related questionnaires and then asked to recall a past illness episode along with health behaviors that may have improved or prevented this experience. Intentions to actually perform one of the listed behaviors in the near future were then rated. A negative relation between trait procrastination and intentions to engage in health behaviors was found. Further, the weak intentions of procrastinators were mediated by a lower health-specific self-efficacy. The consideration of future consequences did not play a role in the procrastination–intentions relationship although it was moderately and negatively related to trait procrastination. These findings were consistent with the role of self-efficacy in intentions as theoretically proposed, and with previous work suggesting that procrastination is associated with low perceived behavioral control.

Introduction

Procrastination has been described as a self-regulation style that involves delay in the start and/or completion of a task (Ferrari & Tice, 2000), and the avoidance of an intention and its implementation (Van Eerde, 2000). Although the negative mental health consequences of procrastination (e.g., anxiety and depression) are well established (Ferrari, 1991a; Flett, Blankstein, & Martin, 1995; Haycock, McCarthy, & Skay, 1998), recent investigations have revealed that procrastination is also associated with negative physical health consequences (Sirois, Melia-Gordon, & Pychyl, 2003; Sirois & Pychyl, 2002; Tice & Baumeister, 1997). Specifically, it has been demonstrated that procrastinators tend to engage in fewer wellness behaviors such as healthy eating and exercise (Sirois et al., 2003; Sirois & Pychyl, 2002), and that the poor health experienced by procrastinators may be due in part to their tendency to delay seeking care for their health problems (Sirois et al., 2003).

Models of predicting health behavior initiation and completion suggest that the formation of intentions is key in determining if a behavior will be performed (Ajzen, 1985, Ajzen, 1991; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975). Given that procrastination is related to fewer health-promoting behaviors, what remains then is to determine the stage in the intentions-action process that procrastinators are likely to experience difficulty that results in a lower probability of engaging in healthy behaviors. Do procrastinators form intentions to perform health behaviors such as exercising and eating healthy and then simply fall short in their efforts to successfully act on these intentions? Or do procrastinators engage in fewer healthy behaviors because they avoid forming health behavior intentions? And, what are the factors implicated in the formation of these intentions? The present study sought to address these unanswered issues by exploring the health behavior intentions of procrastinators and the cognitive factors that may be key in the development of these intentions.

Current research suggests that procrastinators do not differ from non-procrastinators in their intentions to perform certain tasks. Procrastination has been found to be unrelated to job search intentions (Lay & Brokenshire, 1997), to academic work intentions (Steel, Brothen, & Wambach, 2001), and to the number of study intentions formed (Dewitte & Lens, 2000). Given these findings it has been suggested that procrastination may be a behavioral as opposed to an intentional problem (Schouwenburg & Groenewoud, 2001). Indeed, several investigations have noted that procrastinators have greater discrepancies between their intentions and actions than non-procrastinators (Beswick, Rothblum, & Mann, 1988; Blunt & Pychyl, 1998; Lay & Schouwenburg, 1993; Lay & Burns, 1991; Scher & Ferrari, 2000; Steel et al., 2001).

However, much of this research has focused on intentions to complete academic tasks that by their nature are associated with specific time frames for completion. Moreover, procrastination is often operationalized as being specific to the task being assessed, rather than viewing procrastination from a trait perspective where its relation to a wider spectrum of behaviors and intentions is considered. Therefore, it is unclear whether these findings regarding the procrastination–intentions relationship would extend into other domains such as health behaviors where time frames for completing goals are often not regulated by external sources, and where there is usually less or no time pressure to accomplish goals.

According to the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1985, Ajzen, 1991), health behavior intentions are one of the proximal predictors of health behaviors, mediating the influence of attitudes and beliefs on actual behavior. Further, the development of intentions may be influenced by a variety of health-related perceptions and understandings, such as beliefs about whether the behavior will produce the desired outcome. Many health-promoting behaviors, such as exercise and diet changes, do not produce their desired results immediately and therefore require continued and often long-term commitment and effort. The ability to consider the future consequences of current behaviors may therefore be a key factor in the formation of health behavior intentions.

One construct that may be implicated in the formation of health behavior intentions and may also be related to procrastination is the consideration of future consequences (CFC; Strathman, Gleicher, Boninger, & Edwards, 1994), a stable individual difference that reflects the extent to which distant versus immediate consequences of behavior is considered. CFC is proposed to capture a unique aspect of future thought, and has been shown to predict a variety of health behaviors including alcohol use, cigarette use, and environmental behaviors (Strathman et al., 1994). Procrastination has also been related to aspects of time orientation, with both decisional and avoidant procrastination negatively related to a future time orientation (Specter & Ferrari, 2000). Other research suggests that procrastinators have difficulty delaying future gratification (Ferrari & Emmons, 1995). Because health behaviors are associated with delayed rewards, intentions to engage in these behaviors may for procrastinators be linked to differences in the extent to which future consequences of these behaviors are considered.

Within the framework of the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1985, Ajzen, 1991) one factor that is key in determining the formation of behavioral intentions is perceived behavioral control. This refers to the extent to which one feels that the performance of a behavior is under one’s volitional control, and is often seen as synonymous with perceived self-efficacy (Ajzen, 1998; Bandura, 2000), the ability and confidence to successfully complete a behavior (Bandura, 1977, Bandura, 1986). Self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977, Bandura, 1986) plays a central role in the self-regulation of behavior through its effects on intention formation and strength, and persistence of action in the face of obstacles. Moreover, self-efficacy has been found to be one of the best predictors of health behavior intentions for certain health promoting behaviors (Milne & Orbell, 2000).

Given the self-regulation difficulties that characterize trait procrastination, it is not surprising that several studies suggest a relationship between procrastination and self-efficacy. Procrastination was negatively related to global measures of self-efficacy (Ferrari, 1992b; Martin, Flett, Hewitt, Krames, & Szanto, 1996; Tuckman, 1991), and to task-specific efficacy (Haycock et al., 1998) in college students. The relation of procrastination to self-efficacy is consistent with Bandura, 1977, Bandura, 1986 proposition that strong efficacy beliefs promote behavior initiation and persistence whereas weak efficacy beliefs can contribute to behavior avoidance.

Conceptually, those who have lower efficacy beliefs about performing certain behaviors will be less likely to form behavioral intentions (Ajzen, 1985, Ajzen, 1991). Moreover, assessing domain-specific efficacy beliefs is essential for understanding the role of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977) in the proposed relationships between procrastination and health behavior intentions. If the relation between procrastination and global self-efficacy also applies to the health domain, then the fewer healthy behaviors associated with procrastination found in recent studies (Sirois et al., 2003; Sirois & Pychyl, 2002) may be explained by lower health-specific self-efficacy beliefs. Individuals who feel less competent in taking care of their health and believe that they are less likely to succeed in carrying out health behaviors (low health-specific self-efficacy) will be less likely to formulate health behavior intentions. Thus, it is possible that the lower self-efficacy of procrastinators may influence health behaviors through its role in the formation and strength of health behavior intentions.

The goal of the present study was to build on recent findings regarding procrastination and health behaviors by exploring the link between trait procrastination and health behavior intentions. Specifically, two cognitive variables that may mediate this relationship were examined––consideration of future consequences, and self-efficacy (see Fig. 1). In accordance with the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1985, Ajzen, 1991), and Bandura’s (1977) assertion that self-efficacy is best assessed with a domain specific efficacy measure, a health-specific self-efficacy scale was used to examine the links between procrastination and intentions to engage in health behaviors. In order to increase the salience and validity of the health behavior intentions, health behaviors were generated in response to an actual illness experience, with intentions to perform these behaviors in the future rated. Health status was also assessed, partly to replicate previous findings regarding the health states of procrastinators (Sirois et al., 2003; Tice & Baumeister, 1997), and also to establish the context in which health-specific self-efficacy beliefs may be operating.