Comparative Analysis of Psychological Capital Programs and Positive Thinking Strategies on Academic Adjustment and Academic Burnout in Male Students with Academic Procrastination

Objective: The current investigation was undertaken to evaluate the comparative impacts of instructional programs addressing psychological capital and Positive Thinking Strategies on the academic adjustment and academic burnout of male students exhibiting academic procrastination. Methods: The research design employed was quasi-experimental in nature, comprising two experimental cohorts and one control group. The target demographic consisted of male students from a single high school, which was selected randomly from a total of four high schools located in Khormoj (Iran) in the year 2023. Of the 207 students enrolled in the institution, 94 were identified as experiencing academic procrastination, from which 60 were randomly chosen and subsequently divided into three groups of 20 participants each. The two experimental cohorts underwent eight instructional sessions, while the control cohort did not receive any instructional intervention. All three groups completed the academic adjustment assessment developed by Sinha and Sing, as well as the academic burnout evaluation created by Brusso, as both pre-tests and post-tests. To analyze the collected data, both multivariate and univariate analysis of covariance, along with the Bonferroni paired comparison test, were employed. Results: The findings indicated that both intervention strategies exerted a statistically significant influence on academic adjustment and academic burnout, with the Bonferroni test revealing that the psychological capital program exhibited greater efficacy than the positive thinking approach. Conclusions: Based on the research outcomes, it is suggested that the aforementioned interventions may serve as effective methodologies for counselors and psychologists aiming to mitigate academic burnout and enhance academic adjustment among students prone to academic procrastination.