Irrational Delay Revisited: Examining Five Procrastination Scales in a Global Sample

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Procrastination is commonly defined as a detrimental delay.
• Existing scales measure various aspects of procrastination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the factor structures and item functioning of five procrastination scales.
• To identify superior measures for core procrastination attributes.

Main Methods:

• Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Item Response Theory (IRT) were employed.
• A global sample of 4,169 participants was analyzed.
• Five scales were examined: Decisional Procrastination Scale (DPS), Irrational Procrastination Scale (IPS), Pure Procrastination Scale (PPS), Adult Inventory of Procrastination Scale (AIP), and General Procrastination Scale (GPS).

Main Results:

• The Pure Procrastination Scale (PPS), comprising 12 items from DPS, AIP, and GPS, demonstrated superior measurement of procrastination facets.
• A 5-item version of the PPS, focusing on irrational delay, showed strong correspondence with the 9-item Irrational Procrastination Scale (IPS).
• Both the PPS and its shorter version exhibited robust psychometric properties.

Conclusions:

• The PPS and its shortened form are proposed as superior measures for assessing core procrastination attributes.
• These scales offer improved psychometric properties compared to alternative procrastination measures.
• The findings contribute to a more accurate assessment of procrastination behaviors.