Procrastination and Motivation Beliefs of Adolescents: A Cross-Cultural Study

• Author / Creator

  Hannok, Wanwisa

• Using a mixed methods approach, this dissertation included two studies exploring procrastination and academic motivation beliefs of adolescents from Canada and Thailand. Study 1 examined the relationships between procrastination, motivation beliefs—self-efficacy, self-efficacy for self-regulated learning, self-esteem, and test anxiety—and academic performance and explored significant predictors of adolescent procrastination across two cultures. In this study, 312 Canadian and 401 Thai adolescents from secondary schools in an urban area in western Canada and an urban area in North-Eastern Thailand completed a 47-item survey containing procrastination and four motivation measures. In Study 2, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 Thai adolescents representing low and high achieving students, to provide additional information about the role of motivation on adolescent procrastination and investigate academic procrastination of Thai adolescents in more depth. The quantitative findings demonstrated that all motivation variables significantly predicted procrastination, with self-efficacy for self-regulated learning strongly influencing adolescents across cultures. Findings from the qualitative study revealed six themes pertaining to academic procrastination: a) definitions of procrastination, b) antecedents of procrastination, c) consequences of procrastination, d) overcoming procrastination, e) the role of motivation, and f) the role of cultures on motivation, achievement, and procrastination. Quantitative and qualitative findings were integrated and discussed in order to provide insights into adolescent procrastination. Theoretical and educational implications as well as suggestions for future research were also provided.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Procrastination
  • Motivation beliefs
  • Cross-cultural studies
  • Adolescents

• Graduation date

  Spring 2011

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Doctor of Philosophy

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R31Q59

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.