News
13.08.2026
A Long-Term Study on Procrastination: How Delay Behavior Changes Over 18 Years
The voluntary delay of intended tasks despite knowing about possible negative consequences – in short: procrastination – is a widespread phenomenon. While previous research focused primarily on procrastination in specific situations, the stability and change of this behavior over longer periods of life has so far remained largely unexplored. A new 18-year longitudinal study now provides important insights into this question.
In a large sample of young adults in Germany who had been followed since graduating from secondary school (Abitur), the researchers examined the stability and change of procrastination, its associations with the personality traits conscientiousness and neuroticism, as well as its long-term consequences. The results show that procrastination is somewhat less stable over time than the fundamental personality traits of conscientiousness and neuroticism. At the same time, delay behavior decreases on average with increasing age. Furthermore, it emerged that although procrastination is closely associated with low conscientiousness and high neuroticism, it can nevertheless be distinguished as a construct in its own right from both personality traits. Changes in conscientiousness and neuroticism were, moreover, closely linked to changes in procrastination behavior.
A central finding of the study concerns the long-term significance of procrastination for various areas of life. Both the extent of procrastination at the time of graduation and its development over the following years predicted numerous later life outcomes up to 18 years after the first assessment. Thus, a stronger tendency to procrastinate was associated with a later entry into the labor market. In addition, procrastination predicted later outcomes in the areas of education, career, partnership, health, as well as in coping with pandemic-related challenges.
The study shows that procrastination is not an immutable trait but exhibits both stability and change over time. At the same time, the findings underscore the significance of this behavior for important areas of life in young adulthood. With its exceptionally long observation period, the study makes a valuable contribution to understanding the long-term development of procrastination and its significance for the life course.
Publication
Bäulke, L., Roberts, B. W., Nagengast, B., & Trautwein, U. (2026). Once a procrastinator, always a procrastinator? Examining stability, change, and long-term correlates of procrastination during young adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 130(3), 550–568. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000591
Press Contact
Kristina Laube
presse@lead.uni-tuebingen.de
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