Academic procrastination and emotion regulation: Parallel trajectories and reciprocal influences over an academic semester

This study investigated the developmental trajectories and reciprocal relationships between academic procrastination and emotion regulation difficulties across a semester. We assessed 294 university students at three time points using both Latent Growth Curve Modeling (LGCM) and Cross-Lagged Panel Modeling (CLPM). LGCM results revealed that while both constructs increased over time, procrastination showed consistent growth whereas emotion regulation difficulties stabilized after initial increase. Individual differences were found in both initial levels of procrastination and emotion regulation difficulties, but only procrastination showed significant variance in rates of change. CLPM analyses demonstrated that the relationship between these variables shifted from bidirectional to unidirectional as the semester progressed, with emotion dysregulation emerging as the stronger predictor. Higher initial levels of procrastination predicted steeper increases in emotion regulation difficulties, and vice versa. These findings suggest that early intervention targeting both emotional and behavioral aspects might be most effective, particularly before these patterns become established. The results extend our understanding of how these constructs dynamically influence each other over time, contributing to both theoretical frameworks and practical interventions.