Lower metacognitive abilities predict procrastination: a cross-sectional study of a healthy adult sample

BACKGROUND: Procrastination, the tendency to delay tasks despite negative consequences, is a widespread issue linked to poor mental health and reduced daily functioning. While often attributed to self-regulation failures, the specific cognitive mechanisms underlying procrastination remain unclear. This study investigates the role of executive functions (EF), measured through both self-report and performance-based tests, in predicting procrastination in adults. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 108 adults (22–65 years) using the Irrational Procrastination Scale (IPS) to measure procrastination. EF was assessed using the self-report measure Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Adult version (BRIEF-A), which includes nine subscales organized in three factors (Behavior Regulation, Emotional Regulation, and Metacognition), and five performance-based tests assessing inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility, verbal fluency, and problem solving. Conscientiousness, neuroticism, depression, and rumination were included as covariates in a hierarchical multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: Performance-based EF tests showed that participants performed within the normal to high average range across measures, indicating no clinically significant executive impairments. The BRIEF-A T-scores also reflected average executive functioning across all subscales. However, slightly elevated scores were observed on the Initiate and Working Memory subscales. The BRIEF-A metacognitive factor predicted procrastination best, in particular the Initiate subscale. Conscientiousness and age were also significant predictors, and the final model explained 55% of the variance. Self-reported problems on indices for Emotional and Behavior regulation correlated significantly positively with procrastination, but rendered non-significant when included together with the meta-cognitive index in a regression model. Performance-based EF tests showed no significant associations with procrastination. CONCLUSIONS: The findings highlight the importance of metacognitive abilities in understanding procrastination, particularly problems with task initiation. The lack of association with performance-based EF tests underscores the need for real-world measures of EF in procrastination research.