Family Functioning and Academic Procrastination in Primary School Students: the Longitudinal Mediating Role of Personal Growth Initiative

Academic procrastination is associated with students” academic adjustment, yet longitudinal evidence from primary school populations remains limited. This study examined reciprocal longitudinal associations among family functioning, personal growth initiative (PGI), and academic procrastination, as well as the indirect association between family functioning and later procrastination through PGI. A sample of 1,284 fourth- to sixth-grade students completed three assessments in December 2023, March 2024, and June 2024, at approximately three-month intervals. Cross-lagged panel modeling was used to estimate autoregressive and cross-lagged paths. Family functioning predicted higher subsequent PGI, and PGI also predicted higher subsequent family functioning. Higher PGI predicted higher subsequent academic-procrastination scale scores, which represent lower procrastination, while lower procrastination likewise predicted higher subsequent PGI. Family functioning also predicted lower subsequent procrastination, and its longitudinal association with later procrastination was statistically mediated by PGI. The findings identify reciprocal longitudinal associations between family functioning and PGI and between PGI and academic procrastination. Because the data are observational, the results support prediction and statistical mediation rather than causal conclusions.