Abstract

Active procrastination is a multidimensional structure including four components: preference for pressure, intentional decision to procrastinate, ability to meet deadlines, and outcome satisfaction. The present study aims to investigate the pathology of active procrastination in students of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences based on positive and negative metacognitive beliefs. This study is methodologically correlational research, in which two Metacognitive Beliefs Scale and Active Procrastination Scale were used to collect data. The statistical population consists of all male and female students of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences with undergraduate and graduate degrees in different faculties and disciplines. The sample group in this study included 246 students of this university who were selected by stratified random sampling among all faculties of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. The results showed a positive and significant relationship between metacognitive beliefs and active procrastination (R² = 0.184). Additionally, there is a more direct relationship between negative metacognitive beliefs and active procrastination (R² = 0.12). According to the regression results, negative metacognitive beliefs contributed and predicted a greater role in the occurrence of active procrastination. Therefore, metacognitive beliefs related to procrastination are also effective in predicting and explaining active procrastination‎.