Perfectionism and Academic Procrastination Among College Students: Mediating Role of Cognitive Flexibility

The present study investigated the relationship between adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism and academic procrastination among college students, with cognitive flexibility examined as a potential mediating factor. Perfectionism is recognized as a multidimensional construct that can influence academic behaviors in both constructive and maladaptive ways, yet its association with procrastination remains complex. Using a quantitative design, data were collected from 300 undergraduate students aged 18–25 years using the Almost Perfect Scale- Revised (APS-R), the Indian Academic Procrastination Scale, and the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (CFI). The findings indicated that adaptive perfectionism was negatively associated with academic procrastination, suggesting that higher adaptive standards relate to lower tendencies to delay academic tasks. In contrast, maladaptive perfectionism did not demonstrate a meaningful association with procrastination. Mediation analysis further revealed that cognitive flexibility did not significantly mediate the relationships between either dimension of perfectionism and academic procrastination, although direct effects were observed. These results underscore the multidimensional nature of perfectionism and highlight its differential impact on academic procrastination, while suggesting a limited explanatory role for cognitive flexibility in this context.