The role of latent anxiety, manifest anxiety and mindfulness skills in academic procrastination among adolescent girls

Psychological interventions are necessary for countering academic underachievement in students. This study focused on the two constructs of anxiety and mindfulness that may have a destructive and protective role in learning objectives, respectively. The purpose of this research was to determine the role of latent anxiety, manifest anxiety, and mindfulness skills in explaining academic procrastination in adolescent girls. A descriptive-correlational research design was used for the present study. 350 female students from the secondary schools of Rasht city in Guilan Province, Iran were selected. Two-stage cluster sampling was utilized to select students from various academic fields. Next, the samples were evaluated employing the Procrastination Assessment Scale for Students (Solomon and Rothblum), Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), and Cattellchr('39')s Anxiety Scale Questionnaire. For data analysis, the Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis with the enter method were employed. Findings indicate that there is a significant relationship between latent anxiety (r=0.13, p<0.05) and the subscale of action with alertness (r=-0.27, p<0.01) with procrastination. There was no significant relationship between manifest anxiety and other components of mindfulness with procrastination. Also, regression analysis showed that only the variable of action with alertness (β=- 0.25, P<0.0001) negatively predicts academic procrastination scores. Findings confirm the importance of removing the factor of latent anxiety as a fundamental and maintaining factor for the cycle of procrastination. Results also confirm that it is necessary to utilize mindfulness exercises with a focus on awareness as an adaptive skill for the improvement of academic efficacy.