Negative Perfectionism and Academic Procrastination: How Self-Efficacy Shapes the Link in Chinese University Students

Academic procrastination is a widespread issue among university students, especially in high-pressure educational contexts like China. Negative perfectionism—marked by excessive self-criticism and fear of failure—is a known psychological factor contributing to procrastination. However, the underlying mechanism remains insufficiently explored. This study investigates whether academic self-efficacy mediates the relationship between negative perfectionism and academic procrastination. A cross-sectional, quantitative study was conducted involving 460 university students from four institutions in Southwest China. Participants completed three validated instruments assessing negative perfectionism, academic self-efficacy, and academic procrastination. The mediation model was tested using PROCESS Macro Model 4 in SPSS with 5,000 bootstrap resamples. Negative perfectionism was found to be positively associated with academic procrastination and negatively associated with academic self-efficacy (a = -0.242, p < .001). Academic self-efficacy, in turn, negatively predicted procrastination (b = -0.209, p < .001). The indirect effect of negative perfectionism on procrastination via academic self-efficacy was significant (ab = 0.050, 95% CI [-0.083, -0.027]), indicating a partial mediation. The direct effect became statistically significant after accounting for self-efficacy (c′ = 0.1716, p < .001). The findings highlight academic self-efficacy as a key mediating factor in the perfectionism–procrastination link. Interventions that reduce perfectionistic thinking and enhance students’ confidence in academic tasks may help alleviate procrastination, especially in environments driven by external validation and academic pressure.