Academic Procrastination among Adolescents from the Perspective of Self-Regulated Learning Theory: Formation Mechanisms and Intervention Strategies

Academic procrastination is a common academic difficulty that may negatively influence adolescents' academic performance, well-being, or learning development. Though procrastination is often regarded as delayed task completion or poor time management, these behavioural descriptions fail to precisely explain the processes underlying its development. This paper analyses adolescent academic procrastination from the perspective of self-regulated learning (SRL) theory. Drawing on existing theoretical and empirical literature, it analyses the behavioural manifestations of procrastination, potential formation mechanisms, and corresponding intervention strategies. The analysis suggests that adolescent academic procrastination may involve interacting difficulties in motivational and metacognitive regulation, emotional regulation, and social regulation. These difficulties may be reflected in delayed task initiation, competing activities, and last-minute preparation or completion. Based on these mechanisms, interventions involving school-based self-regulation support, family-based autonomy support, and supportive social or digital environments are considered. In sum, adolescent academic procrastination is more appropriately conceptualized as a multidimensional self-regulatory. This perspective highlights the value of mechanism-based interventions that address both adolescents' individual regulatory capacities and the social and educational environments in which regulation develops.