Gender differences in the influence of personality on academic procrastination in Peruvian college students

The objective of the present study was to analyze whether there are differences between men and women in terms of the influence of personality dimensions on academic procrastination. Participants were 986 students aged between 16 and 40 years (69.8 % women, M-age = 20.81 years), students of different professional careers from two universities located in Lima. The Academic Procrastination Scale (APS) and the Big Five Inventory-15P (BFI-15P) were the instruments administered. An invariance analysis of a structural regression model that indicates the influence of personality on academic procrastination was implemented. The results show that personality explains a significant percentage of the variability of the dimensions of academic procrastination. However, the influence of two dimensions, consciousness and neuroticism, is greater in women. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings arc discussed, as well as the need to strengthen curricular plans aimed at enhancing resources and reducing those aspects that could negatively affect the academic behavior of the student.