Dynamic and Bidirectional Relation Between Mindfulness and Procrastination Among Female College Students.

Objectives: Procrastination is a common behavior in our daily life that can lead to detrimental consequences, and previous studies have shown that female college students are more vulnerable to procrastination. Mindfulness-based interventions have been used to reduce procrastination; however, little is known about how mindfulness and procrastination interplay in everyday contexts. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to explore the dynamic and bidirectional relation between mindfulness and procrastination from a multidimensional perspective. Method: A total of 252 female college students participated in a 34-day diary study, during which they completed daily measures of procrastination and three dimensions of state mindfulness (i.e., acting with awareness, nonjudgmental acceptance, and present-moment attention). Dynamic structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Results: We found a bidirectional association of daily procrastination with one dimension of state mindfulness (i.e., acting with awareness), but not with the other two dimensions (i.e., nonjudgmental acceptance, and present-moment attention). Specifically, higher levels of acting with awareness predicted individuals' lower levels of procrastination the next day (β = -0.042, 95% CI [-0.070, -0.019]), which enhanced their subsequent levels of acting with awareness (β = -0.087, 95% CI [-0.113, -0.058]). This indicated a self-perpetuating virtuous cycle between acting with awareness and daily procrastination. Conclusions: Our findings provided valuable insights into mindfulness-based preventions and interventions. This study not only supported the role of mindfulness in reducing procrastination, but more importantly, highlighted the importance of targeting particular dimensions of mindfulness, rather than considering it as a whole, to enhance the effectiveness of mindfulness practices in addressing procrastination. Preregistration: This study is not preregistered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]