The Effectiveness of Treatment Based on Acceptance and Commitment on Procrastination, Self-Regulation and Academic Performance of Students

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

PhD student, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Tehran, Aras Campus, Tehran, Iran

10.22034/jmpr.2025.68587.6767

Abstract

The present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of treatment based on acceptance and commitment on students' procrastination, self-regulation, and academic performance. The research method was a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test-post-test design with a control group. The statistical population of the study was all male high school students in Tabriz District 5 in the academic year 1401-1402. Through purposive sampling, 30 people were selected and randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups of 15 people. The instruments used in this study were the Solomon and Rothblom (1984) Academic Procrastination Questionnaire, the Bouffard et al. (1995) Academic Self-Regulation Scale, and the Pham and Taylor (1999) Academic Performance Scale. The experimental group received the acceptance and commitment training program for 8 sessions of 90 minutes, one day a week. The data obtained from the study were analyzed through multivariate analysis of covariance. The significance level in all tests was considered to be 0.05. The results showed that the treatment program based on acceptance and commitment is effective on academic procrastination (p<0.001), academic self-regulation (p<0.001) and academic performance (p<0.001) of students. According to the findings of the research, treatment based on acceptance and commitment can greatly reduce academic procrastination and improve self-regulation and academic performance in students.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Bina Vajargahi, A., Akbari, B., & Hamzehpoor Haghighi, T. (2025). The Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Academic Procrastination and Self-Control of Female Students with Internet Addiction. Rooyesh-e-Ravanshenasi Journal (RRJ), 13(9), 101-110. http://frooyesh.ir/article-1-5267-en.html [in Persian]
Bouffard, T., Boisvert, J., Vezeau, C., & Larouche, C. (1995). The impact of goal orientation on self‐regulation and performance among college students. British journal of educational psychology, 65(3), 317-329. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8279.1995.tb01152.x
Carter, A. (2023). Meta-analysis comparing the efficacy of ACT and CBT for academic procrastination (Doctoral dissertation, The University of Waikato).
Dartaj, F., & Delavar, A. (2005). The effect of process and product mental simulation on improving students' academic performance and achievement. Modern Educational Thoughts, 1(2), 7-21. https://doi.org/10.22051/jontoe.2005.267 [in Persian]
Enayati Shabkolahi. M., & Enayati Shabkolahi. M. (2021). The effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on social adjustment, academic self regulation and cognitive flexibility of students with special learning disabilities. Psychological Studies of Adolescents and Young People, 2(1), 255-265. [in Persian]
Ghasempour, S., Bazghaleh, M., Basirinezhad, M. H., Setousar, M., Sadi, M., Mahmoodi, M., & Abbasi, A. (2025). Effectiveness of Group Therapy Based on Acceptance and Commitment for Nursing Students' Procrastination and Perfectionism: A Parallel Randomized Controlled Trial. Nurse Education in Practice, 104301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2025.104301 [in Persian]
Hayes, S. C., Levin, M. E., Plumb-Vilardaga, J., Villatte, J. L., & Pistorello, J. (2013). Acceptance and commitment therapy and contextual behavioral science: Examining the progress of a distinctive model of behavioral and cognitive therapy. Behavior therapy, 44(2), 180-198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2009.08.002
Hayes, S. C., & King, G. A. (2024). Acceptance and commitment therapy: What the history of ACT and the first 1,000 randomized controlled trials reveal. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 100809. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2024.100809
Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Strosahl, K. (Eds.). (2004). A practical guide to acceptance and commitment therapy. Springer Science & Business Media.
Hosseini, S. K., Fard, R. J., & Shoushtari, M. T. (2024). The Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Emotion Regulation, Behavioral Symptoms, and Academic Performance of Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Journal of Clinical Research in Paramedical Sciences, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.5812/jcrps-145092 [in Persian]
Hoseini Ahangari, S. A., Zarbakhsh, M., & Mahmoodi, N. (2021). The Effectiveness of Therapy based on Acceptance and Commitment to Improving Academic Performance and Reducing Academic Procrastination of Students with Academic Failure in Abadan University of Medical Sciences in the Academic Year 2018-2019. Islamic lifestyle with a focus on health, 4(12), 46-54. [in Persian]
jenaabadi, H., & razavi, S. (2013). The Relationships of Self-efficacy and Emotional on Educational Achievement among High School Students of Martyr’s Girls. Journal of Educational Psychology Studies, 10(17), 51-64. doi: 10.22111/jeps.2013.1446 [in Persian]
Khaleq Khah, A., Rezaei Sharif, A., Zahid Balbalan, A., & Hashemi, S. Z. (2015). Investigating the effectiveness of jigsaw-style cooperative learning education on self-regulation and academic motivation of elementary school students. Journal of Education and Learning Studies, 7(2), 154-182. https://sid.ir/paper/502122/fa [in Persian]
Limone, P., Sinatra, M., Ceglie, F., & Monacis, L. (2020). Examining procrastination among university students through the lens of the self-regulated learning model. Behavioral Sciences, 10(12), 184. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs10120184
Neff, K. D., & Germer, C. K. (2013). A pilot study and randomized controlled trial of the mindful self‐compassion program. Journal of clinical psychology, 69(1), 28-44. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.21923
Nikbakht, E., abdekhodae, M. S., & Hasanabadi, H. (2014). Effectiveness of Reality Therapy Group Counseling Program on Academic Motivation and Procrastination. Research in Clinical Psychology and Counseling, 3(2), 81-94. doi: 10.22067/ijap.v3i2.15434 [in Persian]
Paliliunas, D., Belisle, J., & Dixon, M. R. (2018). A randomized control trial to evaluate the use of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to increase academic performance and psychological flexibility in graduate students. Behavior analysis in practice, 11, 241-253.
Pham, L. B., & Taylor, S. E. (1999). From thought to action: Effects of process-versus outcome-based mental simulations on performance. Personality and social psychology bulletin, 25(2), 250-260. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167299025002010
Razeghi, F. S., Mirzahosseini, H. & Zargham hajebi, M. (2020). A Model of Relationship between Achievement Goals and Motivational Beliefs with Educational Procrastination: The Mediating Role of Self-Regulated Learning Strategies. Educational Development of Judishapur, 11(3), 334-359. doi: 10.22118/edc.2020.213063.1235 [in Persian]
Saba, B., Ghaffari Nouran, O. and Nazari, V. (2025). Effectiveness of Moral Intelligence Training on Academic Engagement, School Burnout and Academic Self-Regulation in Procrastinating Students. Journal of Modern Psychological Researches, 20(79), 63-75. doi: 10.22034/jmpr.2023.46934.4456 [in Persian]
Schunk, D. H., & Zimmerman, B. J. (Eds.). (2023). Self-regulation of learning and performance: Issues and educational applications. Taylor & Francis.
Shaked, L., & Altarac, H. (2022). Exploring academic procrastination: Perceptions, self-regulation, and consequences. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 19(3), 1-23.
She, Y., Klimczak, K. S., Levin, M. E., & Liao, S. N. (2024, March). ClearMind Workshop: An ACT-based Intervention Tailored for Academic Procrastination among Computing Students. In Proceedings of the 55th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 1 (pp. 1216-1222). https://doi.org/10.1145/3626252.3630805
Sianturi, R., Keliat, B. A., & Wardani, I. Y. (2018). The effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on anxiety in clients with stroke. Enfermeria clinica, 28, 94-97. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1130-8621(18)30045-7
Soltanizadeh, M., Hosseini, F., & Kazemi Zahrani, H. (2021). The effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on social adjustment and self-regulation learning in female students with test anxiety. Journal of Educational Psychology Studies, 18(41), 29-17. https://doi.org/10.22111/jeps.2021.6048
Steel, P., & Klingsieck, K. B. (2016). Academic procrastination: Psychological antecedents revisited. Australian Psychologist, 51(1), 36-46. https://doi.org/10.1111/ap.12173
Solomon, L. J., & Rothblum, E. D. (1984). Academic procrastination: frequency and cognitive-behavioral correlates. Journal of counseling psychology, 31(4), 503. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0022-0167.31.4.503 [in Persian]
Yang, X., Liu, R. D., Ding, Y., Hong, W., & Jiang, S. (2021). The relations between academic procrastination and self-esteem in adolescents: A longitudinal study. Current Psychology, 1-15.
Yazdani, A., Mehri, M., & Elahi Najaf Abadi, S. (2022). Evaluation of the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment-based therapy on academic performance and exam anxiety of female high school students. A new approach to children's education quarterly, 4(2), 40-48. https://doi.org/10.22034/naes.2021.315512.1160 [in Persian]
Zimmerman, B. J. (2023). Dimensions of academic self-regulation: A conceptual framework for education. In Self-regulation of learning and performance (pp. 3-21). Routledge.
Journal of Modern Psychological Researches
Volume 20, Issue 80
January 2026
Pages 178-189

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 10 August 2025
  • Revise Date: 21 November 2025
  • Accept Date: 24 November 2025

Share

How to cite

Statistics