title: On the Measurement of Procrastination: Comparing Two Scales in Six European Countries.
abstract: Procrastination is a common problem, but defining and measuring it has been subject to some debate. This paper summarizes results from students and employees (N = 2893) in Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, and Sweden using the Pure Procrastination Scale (PPS) and the Irrational Procrastination Scale (IPS; Steel, 2010), both assumed to measure unidimensional and closely related constructs. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated inadequate configural fit for the suggested one-factor model for PPS; however, acceptable fit was observed for a three-factor model corresponding to the three different scales the PPS is based on. Testing measurement invariance over countries and students-employees revealed configural but not strong or strict invariance, indicating that both instruments are somewhat sensitive to cultural differences. We conclude that the PPS and IPS are valid measures of procrastination, and that the PPS may be particularly useful in assessing cultural differences in unnecessary delay.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Tromsø - the Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø Norway.
authors.forename: Frode
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Svartdal
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Tromsø - the Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø Norway.
authors.forename: Gerit
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pfuhl
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Tromsø - the Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø Norway.
authors.forename: Kent
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nordby
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Tromsø - the Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø Norway.
authors.forename: Gioel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Foschi
authors.affiliation: Fakultät für Kulturwissenschaften, Fach Psychologie, Universität Paderborn, Paderborn Germany.
authors.forename: Katrin B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Klingsieck
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm Sweden.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rozental
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm Sweden.
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Carlbring
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research and Development of Higher Education, University of Helsinki, Helsinki Finland.
authors.forename: Sari
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lindblom-Ylänne
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Warszawa, Warszawa Poland.
authors.forename: Kaja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rębkowska
keywords: cross-cultural; measurement; procrastination; scale; validation