Procrastination among US college students: Prevalence and impact relative to common health and life issues

Procrastination is unnecessary delay that can cause various problems. There are uncertainties around how common exactly it is among students, how much it affects them, and how its prevalence and impact compare to those of other issues that students regularly face. Accordingly, this study examines data from 65,950 students (in all degree types and stages), who were surveyed across 97 US institutions of higher education as part of the American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment (ACHA-NCHA). Students were asked about 36 life and health issues, like procrastination, career, finances, appearance, family, bullying, anxiety, depression, ADHD, sleep difficulties, allergies, and influenza. Procrastination was found to be the most common issue that students reported (functionally tied with stress), affecting 72.3% of them. Procrastination was also the issue that most often harmed students’ academic performance, affecting 45.4% of them (62.7% of those who experienced it), which was several times as often as issues like finances (2.8x) and ADHD (3.5x). And, procrastination was the most common cause of significant distress compared to the other life issues, affecting 45.7% of students (63.2% of those who experienced it). These rates were higher among undergraduate students, although procrastination was a leading issue among graduate and professional students too. This sheds light on the scale of student procrastination—both in absolute terms and relative to other issues they face—and highlights the need to address it using relevant interventions.