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Impact of Mindfulness on Equity Gaps in Procrastination

Ranjeeta Basu, Jill M. Weigt

College Teaching October 30, 2026 DOI: 10.1080/87567555.2026.2754756 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Pre-post intervention study Peer reviewed
Population College students in higher education, including first-generation men
Duration Semester-long intervention
Measures 5-item Academic Procrastination Scale
Topics Meditation
Key points First-generation men reported significantly higher academic procrastination than all other students at pretest, and this difference dropped away over the semester. First-generation men also rated the emotion-mindfulness strategy as significantly more impactful than the rest of the sample. The authors argue that mindfulness may help support first-generation men and mitigate restrictive emotionality linked to masculine identities.

Abstract

Procrastination behavior, very prevalent among college students in higher education, is inversely related to academic achievement, and is more likely among male, first generation, and underrepresented minority students. We test whether a semester-long intervention, consisting of three mindfulness pedagogical strategies designed to address varying aspects of procrastination, helps to reduce academic procrastination, generally, and for first-generation men, in particular. Self-reported procrastination levels were captured in pre- and post-tests using the 5-item Academic Procrastination Scale and compared using a difference in means t-tests across demographic characteristics. In t-tests of the pretests, we found that first-generation men reported significantly higher levels of procrastination than all other students, a difference which dropped away over the course of the semester. Further t-tests demonstrated that first generation men reported the strategy which asked them to become more mindful of their emotions to be significantly impactful compared to the rest of the sample. Drawing on these findings, we explore the implications of mindfulness for supporting first generation men in college, who enroll and graduate at lower rates, specifically exploring how mindfulness can mitigate the effects of masculine identities which can undermine academic achievement and encumber young men with restrictive emotionality (Liang et al. Citation2019).

Comparable studies

Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients 2003 Pre-post intervention study n = 59
Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample 2010 Pre-post intervention study
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students 2003 Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study n = 302
Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls 2011 Controlled trial with wait-list control group n = 60
The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents 2011 Within-group waitlist controlled trial n = 22

Citations in the library

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