Processes of change in cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy for procrastination: moderation and longitudinal mediation...

Procrastination is a common self-regulatory difficulty leading to impaired well-being. Although cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is considered the most promising intervention for procrastination, it remains unclear whether outcomes vary across individuals and which mechanisms drive therapeutic change. To address these gaps, we synthesized key mechanistic accounts of procrastination in an integrative cognitive-behavioral (ICB-P) model outlining processes involved in development and persistence of procrastination. We then comprehensively examined the processes of change in CBT for procrastination.

Candidate moderators and mechanisms of therapeutic change were examined in secondary analyses of pooled data (N = 459) from two randomized controlled trials comparing CBT for academic procrastination with a wait-list control. Procrastination and a wide set of candidate mechanisms were assessed at pre-, mid-, and post-intervention. Moderation analyses and longitudinal structural equation models with contemporaneous (within-wave) and lagged (cross-wave) mediation paths were applied.

Participants with greater baseline emotion regulation difficulties benefited more from the intervention, whereas dysfunctional beliefs associated with some cluster B personality disorders were linked to lower improvements. Baseline depression, anxiety, or ADHD symptoms did not moderate outcomes. Regarding mechanisms of change, increased task value and proactive control mediated both contemporaneous and lagged reductions in procrastination. Contemporaneous effects were mediated through increased positive and decreased negative task-related affect, improved perseverance, emotional clarity, and internal attributions of success.

Findings suggest broad applicability of CBT for procrastination. Optimized interventions could enhance the implicated mechanisms, i.e. target task-related affect and self-regulation, or incorporate additional components. Directions for future research are discussed.