Procrastination Ranked Above Anxiety and ADHD in Large US Student Survey

Nearly half of more than 65,000 US university students said procrastination damaged their academic work, placing it above ADHD, anxiety and financial worries The Guardian. Depression ranked lower. More than twice as many students named procrastination as named depression.

The survey asked about two separate things: impact on academic work and personal distress. The pattern held on both measures. Nearly half said procrastination caused them significant distress. That put it above family pressures and bullying.

The study was conducted by Itamar Shatz, an affiliated lecturer at the University of Cambridge. It covered students in the United States and was published in the journal PLOS One. The findings were reported on 8 October 2026. The study suggests procrastination could be a factor in a vicious cycle that causes or exaggerates other issues such as stress.

The broader context here is what self-report captures. Self-report means students describe their own experience directly, without a diagnosis and without seeking help. That lowers the barrier to answering. Like a headcount of what feels most present day to day, it shows salience rather than medical severity.

Looking at what this means for universities and researchers, the vicious-cycle idea needs careful testing. If delay fuels stress, and stress makes further delay more likely, then academic difficulty and distress cannot be separated neatly. Support that addresses only emotions leaves the behaviour loop intact. Support that addresses only study skills leaves the distress intact.

In my view, the next test is to move from counts to tracking over time. Knowing how many students name a problem is a starting point. It does not show how long delay lasts, how grades shift, or how distress builds across a term. With nearly half pointing to the same issue for both work and wellbeing, there is a clear case for measuring behaviour and outcomes together.