ADD. Revista Latinoamericana de Psicología · 2026

Why gritty students procrastinate less? The mediating role of self-efficacy

Procrastination is the intentional delay in completing tasks despite awareness of the negative consequences. It is common in higher education and has been associated with academic failure among students. Method: The present study analysed the role of self-efficacy in the relationship between grit (consistency of interests and perseverance of effort) and two dimensions of the procrastination scale (activity postponement and academic self-regulation). The sample consisted of 509 Portuguese university students aged 18 to 58 years (M = 21.61, SD = 5.470), including 288 (56.6%) women. Results: A mediation model analysis showed that higher grit was associated with lower procrastination and higher academic task regulation. The analysis also revealed a partial mediation effect of self-efficacy in the relationship between grit and self-regulation, but this mediating effect was not found in the relationship with task procrastination. Conclusions: These findings suggest that grit and self-efficacy are complementary in explaining self-regulation but may be redundant in explaining procrastination. This justifies further studies to better understand the interaction between grit and self-efficacy in explaining the quality of learning and academic success in higher education.