Developing an intervention to overcome procrastination

ABSTRACT

The main goal of this study was the development of a reliable intervention to overcome general procrastination orientated to college students, designed to be used in practical clinical work. The workshops involved six meetings based on behavioral and cognitive techniques, paradox intervention, and psychoeducation. 175 students participated voluntarily. Their procrastination levels were measured in a pretest, post-test, and a 3-month follow-up. After the first interview, the participants were randomly divided into three groups (Intervention A, Intervention B, and a control group with no intervention). There was a significant improvement after the intervention. After 3 months, the average score was still significantly lower than in the pretest, whereas the score of the control group remained unchanged. The participants in Workshop A scored significantly lower in the post-test than the ones in Workshop B. After 3 months, the participants in Workshop B scored significantly lower in the follow up. So both interventions resulted to be effective in reducing procrastination sustainably.