Åsberg Katarina, Löf Marie, Bendtsen Marcus
Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Linköping University, Sweden.
Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institute, Sweden.
Internet Interv. 2024 Apr 8;36:100741. doi: 10.1016/j.invent.2024.100741. eCollection 2024 Jun.
Procrastination behaviors are common among university students, and have been found to be associated with stress, symptoms of depression, anxiety, and poorer academic performance. There is a need for interventions that can reach students at scale, and therefore this study aimed to estimate the effects of a single session low-threshold digital intervention (Focus) for procrastination behaviors among university students in Sweden.
A two-arm, parallel groups (1:1), single blind randomized controlled trial was conducted between February 8 to April 26, 2023. The study used email to invite university students across Sweden to participate in the trial. Both the intervention and the control group were invited to assess their current procrastination behaviors using the Pure Procrastination Scale (PPS). The intervention group immediately received feedback and behavior change advice by means of an interactive website, while the control group was shown their total PPS score without any further feedback. Students were included in the study if they scored 20 points or more on the PPS. Our primary outcome was procrastination behavior measured at 2 months post-randomization. Analyses were conducted using multilevel regression models estimated with Bayesian inference.
A total of 2209 participants (intervention: 1109, control: 1100) were randomized. The average age of participants was 26.4 years (SD = 7.8) and 65 % were women ( = 1442). The mean PPS score at baseline was 35.6 points (of a maximum of 60). Primary outcome data were available for 45 % ( = 498) of the intervention group and 55 % ( = 601) of the control group. The evidence suggested no marked difference between groups regarding any of the outcomes, although there was weak evidence of lower physical activity in the intervention group. Qualitative findings from open-ended responses uncovered a variety of views on procrastination and perceived problems that may follow. Those not feeling supported by Focus explained having troubles adopting the advice given and converting their intentions into action without more continuous support.
Access to a single session of feedback and behavior change advice by means of an interactive website did not produce differential self-reported procrastination among university students who took the opportunity to self-assess their behaviors. The findings are limited by assessment reactivity due to screening at baseline and attrition to follow-up.
拖延行为在大学生中很常见，并且已被发现与压力、抑郁症状、焦虑以及较差的学业成绩有关。需要有能够大规模覆盖学生的干预措施，因此本研究旨在评估一次低门槛数字干预（Focus）对瑞典大学生拖延行为的影响。
于2023年2月8日至4月26日进行了一项双臂平行组（1:1）单盲随机对照试验。该研究通过电子邮件邀请瑞典各地的大学生参与试验。干预组和对照组均被邀请使用纯拖延量表（PPS）评估他们当前的拖延行为。干预组通过一个交互式网站立即收到反馈和行为改变建议，而对照组只看到他们的PPS总分，没有任何进一步的反馈。如果学生在PPS上的得分达到20分或更高，则被纳入研究。我们的主要结局是随机分组后2个月测量的拖延行为。使用贝叶斯推断估计的多层回归模型进行分析。
共有2209名参与者（干预组：1109名，对照组：1100名）被随机分组。参与者的平均年龄为26.4岁（标准差 = 7.8），65%为女性（n = 1442）。基线时的平均PPS得分为35.6分（满分60分）。干预组45%（n = 498）和对照组55%（n = 601）有主要结局数据。证据表明，两组在任何结局方面均无明显差异，不过有微弱证据表明干预组的身体活动较少。开放式回答的定性结果揭示了对拖延以及可能随之而来的感知问题的各种看法。那些认为Focus没有提供支持的人解释说，在没有更多持续支持的情况下，难以采纳所给建议并将意图转化为行动。
通过交互式网站获得一次反馈和行为改变建议，在有机会自我评估行为的大学生中，并未产生不同的自我报告的拖延情况。由于基线筛查和随访失访导致的评估反应性，研究结果受到限制。
