Understanding happiness and academic procrastination among professional students

Abstract This study examines the role of happiness in academic procrastination among professional students and explores the impact of student type (senior vs. junior) and residence (rural vs. urban) on procrastination behaviors. The sample consisted of 896 professional undergraduate students selected using a stratified sampling technique, with 481 (54%) classified as seniors and 415 (46%) as juniors. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire and analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and regression analysis. The research reveals that happiness explains 40% of the variance in academic procrastination, underscoring its significant influence. The findings show that while student type affects procrastination levels, it does not significantly impact happiness. Residence and the interaction between student type and residence have negligible effects on both happiness and procrastination. These results suggest that emotional well-being is a crucial factor in mitigating procrastination, with happiness playing a more substantial role than demographic factors such as seniority and geographical location. The significance of this study lies in its challenge to traditional views that emphasize demographic characteristics in educational interventions. By demonstrating the critical role of happiness in reducing procrastination, the study highlights the importance of focusing on emotional well-being to enhance academic performance. The premise is that internal emotional factors, rather than external demographics, have a greater impact on procrastination behaviors, suggesting that fostering happiness among students could be a more effective strategy in addressing academic procrastination.