Maladaptive perfectionism can explain the inverse relationship between dispositional mindfulness and procrastination.
Gozde Ibili, Jeremy John Tree, Yılmaz Orhun Gurluk
PLoS One February 12, 2025 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0318845 (opens in new tab)
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Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Longitudinal Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 126 |
| Population | Adults aged 18-33 |
| Measures | 15-Item Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait Form, Almost Perfect Scale-Revised, Pure Procrastination Scale |
| Topics | Anxiety Meditation |
| Keywords | Humans Cross-sectional studies Personality Adolescent Female Young adult Surveys and questionnaires Perfectionism Procrastination |
| Key findings | Maladaptive perfectionism significantly mediated the inverse relationship between dispositional mindfulness and procrastination, with the model explaining 15% of the variance in procrastination (R2 = .15, β = -.39, B = -.83, 95% CI [-1.18, -.48], p < .001). Trait anxiety did not significantly mediate this relationship in the reported results. |
Abstract
Given the widespread occurrence of procrastination and its adverse association with well-being, investigating the individual variables that influence procrastination is a crucial matter. Previous research has identified dispositional mindfulness to be negatively associated with procrastination, but the underlying mechanisms driving this relationship remain unclear. In this study, the aim was to investigate whether the inverse relationship between dispositional mindfulness and procrastination could be explained by the mediating roles of trait anxiety and maladaptive perfectionism. In a cross-sectional survey, 126 participants (aged 18-33) completed the 15-Item Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait Form, the Almost Perfect Scale-Revised, and the Pure Procrastination Scale. A parallel mediation model was tested to investigate the mediating role of self-reported maladaptive perfectionism and trait anxiety to explain the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and procrastination with a bootstrapped multivariate technique. The results revealed that maladaptive perfectionism significantly mediated the relationship between mindfulness and procrastination -indicating that dispositional mindfulness has a significant indirect effect on procrastination via decreased levels of maladaptive perfectionism. It was determined that 15% of the variance in procrastination was significantly explained by this model (R2 = .15, β = -.39, B = -.83, 95% CI = [-1.18, -.48], p < .001]. As the study highlights the importance of maladaptive perfectionism to explain the link between mindfulness and procrastination, we suggest that future research could investigate the influence of mindfulness on procrastination via mindfulness-based interventions, and include measurements of both trait anxiety and maladaptive perfectionism across longitudinal or experimental designs to unpack causality with respect to our pattern of observed findings.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Experienced meditators and nonmeditating comparison groups | 2008 | Cross-sectional study | |
| Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Adult participants | 2007 | Observational cross-sectional | n = 27 |
| Assessing mindfulness in children and adolescents: Development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). School-aged children and adolescents | 2011 | Cross-sectional validation study | n = 1,413 |
| Mindfulness and self-compassion as predictors of psychological wellbeing in long-term meditators and matched nonmeditators Experienced meditators and demographically matched nonmeditators | 2012 | Cross-sectional study | n = 152 |
| Mechanisms of Action in the Inverse Relationship Between Mindfulness and Psychological Distress Undergraduates | 2008 | Cross-sectional, correlational |
Citations in the library
Cites 14
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Assessment February 29, 2008
- Brief mindfulness training for negative affectivity: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology June 25, 2018
- Brief mindfulness meditation training reduces mind wandering: The critical role of acceptance. Emotion November 7, 2016
and 9 more in the library