1.1. The Importance of Self-Efficacy in the Academic Context
One of the crucial elements that induces individuals to engage in, or avoid, a behaviour is the perception of control over events or their beliefs about their ability to achieve the desired results through their actions [
7]. From this definition, the concept of self-efficacy has aroused considerable interest in previous research, and it has been included in most theories of behaviours relevant to health. It takes a central position in the Social Cognitive Theory of Bandura [
8], according to which self-efficacy is defined as a set of “beliefs in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required producing given attainments” [
9], and it is action-guiding aspect of self-conception [
10,
11]. In addition, from this perspective, perceived self-efficacy could be defined as a generative ability whose purpose is to orient individual cognitive, social, emotional, and behavioural sub-abilities efficiently to fulfil specific purposes. This suggests that success in dealing with risk situations also depends on people’s belief to become “proactive agents” in recovering a sense of control in the presence of failures.
More empirical evidence has shown the crucial role of self-efficacy in the commitment, persistence, choices, and efforts of individuals in different life contexts [
12,
13]. Additionally, it has been demonstrated that people who express low levels of self-efficacy in completing or performing a particular task tend to avoid it; conversely, those who report high levels of self-efficacy feel themselves competent and inclined to obtain their purpose in life. These considerations are more evident in the academic context. So, increased self-efficacy is linked to improved academic achievement [
14,
15,
16,
17,
18]. More specifically, academic self-efficacy is the belief of persons who can successfully accomplish academic tasks [
19]. The scientific literature supports the relationship between students’ self-efficacy beliefs about academic tasks and their academic achievement. Unsurprisingly, some researchers have investigated the role of the beliefs of academic self-efficacy in predicting the success and well-being of university students [
20]. Specifically, Gutiérrez and Tomás [
21] studied the relationships among academic self-efficacy, engagement, and subjective well-being in a sample of 870 Dominican university students; the results showed that both academic self-efficacy and engagement predicted high levels of students’ subjective well-being. At the same time, academic self-efficacy is considered a protective factor for students’ mental health. As reported by Grøtan and colleagues [
22], symptoms of mental distress (such as anxiety, depression, and anti-social behaviours), academic self-efficacy, and study progress are negatively correlated. Moreover, students’ ability to handle emotional stress during their studies is considered an important factor to reduce academic delay and dropout [
23]. Heinrich and Gullone [
24] reported that a sense of loneliness, usually linked to depression, is viewed as a risk factor for the progress of students in the academic context.
On the other hand, the previous literature has highlighted the importance of academic self-efficacy for learning and academic performance [
25,
26,
27,
28]. For example, a systematic review carried out by Honicke and Broadbent [
28] reported that academic self-efficacy was positively correlated with academic performance, especially in the academic environment. Recently, the relationship between academic self-efficacy and adjustment was analysed in 546 Jordanian university students; the findings indicated that high levels of academic self-efficacy predicted better adaptation in students [
29]. Other researchers analysed self-efficacy as a predictor of satisfaction with life and positive relations with peers in university students [
30,
31]. Additionally, in a group of 71 Canadian students, Wilcox and Nordstokke [
31] observed that the more the students perceived themselves as able to successfully perform academic tasks, the more they reached high levels of satisfaction with life in the academic context.
There is a general consensus on the positive effects of self-efficacy in the life of individuals, even within an academic context. However, various studies have highlighted that it can be considered as a “protective factor” against two specific psychological variables that undermine the development of a good academic career, procrastination and the intolerance of uncertainty.
1.2. Procrastination in Academic Context
Firstly, it is important to specify the topic of procrastination. There are many definitions of this concept, but all agree that procrastination is an irrational tendency to delay tasks that should be completed [
32] or “the unnecessary delaying of activities that one ultimately intends to complete, especially when done to the point of creating emotional discomfort” [
33]. Successively, it was reported that postponing tasks is a result of behavioural manifestations, including a lack of promptness either in intention or behaviour [
34]. As reported by Ferrari, procrastination is “the purposive delay in the beginning and/or completion of an overt or covert act, typically accompanied by subjective discomfort” [
35]. Finally, Steel defined procrastination as a “voluntary delay of an intended course of action despite expecting to be worse off for the delay” [
36].
According to these definitions, different types of procrastination behaviour have been identified as having positive or negative effects on people’s lives. It is possible to classify two forms of procrastination, “passive procrastination” (such as avoidant, arousal, and decisional procrastination), which is linked to high stress and discomfort due to this repeated postponement [
37], and “active procrastination”, defined as a tendency in individuals to intentionally decide to procrastinate, to use their strong motivation when they feel themselves under pressure, and to complete tasks before the deadline, achieving satisfactory results [
38]. In relation to the current research, our attention was focused on passive procrastination, and specifically on “decisional procrastination”. Ferrari and colleagues [
39] defined decisional procrastination as a lack of ability to decide within a specified time period. For this type of procrastination, individuals intentionally choose to perform other tasks seen as less stressful for them and tend to underestimate the time required to complete the task, believing that they will meet the deadline. Decisional procrastination is related to a cognitive mechanism delaying the decision-making process to face stressful situations, thus reducing psychological pressure when dealing with different situations [
40,
41].
Previous empirical evidence has confirmed that university students adopt the most procrastinating behaviours, especially in the academic context [
1,
2,
42,
43,
44,
45] and in relation to writing a paper, studying for an exam, keeping up with the topics of the lessons, carrying out the assigned tasks, and participating in the lessons [
46]. In line with these considerations, Sarirah and Chaq [
1] reported a significant negative link between academic self-efficacy and decisional procrastination in students who were preparing their thesis. In a group of 120 Indonesian college students, it emerged that the more the students reported higher levels of academic self-efficacy, the less they postponed their decisions in completing their thesis. At the same time, Liu and colleagues [
2] highlighted that academic self-efficacy was correlated positively with academic self-control and negatively with academic procrastination in terms of completing a paper. Some research has reported that both procrastination and self-efficacy are related to academic achievement and significantly predict it. Generally, students with a high level of procrastination have shown low levels of academic self-efficacy and reduced academic achievement [
44,
47]. For example, Balkis [
44] investigated the mediator and moderator role of academic self-efficacy in predicting the effects of procrastination on academic achievement in a sample of 364 Turkish students. According to the initial hypothesis, the findings demonstrated that academic self-efficacy had a partial mediator role between academic procrastination and achievement. In addition, academic self-efficacy moderated the relationship between academic procrastination and achievement. Underlining this empirical evidence, Mutlu [
44] studied the relationships among academic self-efficacy, motivation, and procrastination in a group of 390 Turkish university students. The more the students expressed high levels of academic self-efficacy, the more they were highly motivated during their academic career. Conversely, the more the students reported higher academic self-efficacy, the less they tended to procrastinate tasks, actions, and decisions within the academic context.
Similar results are also present in the Italian context. Procrastination has been investigated in association with other psychological topics, such as self-efficacy, psychological well-being, time management, stress, and fear of failure [
48,
49]. For example, Limone and colleagues [
48] confirmed the relationship between procrastination and time management. The students who delayed their tasks or decisions in the academic context were the same who expressed worse time management during their academic career. Recently, according to the approach of Positive Psychology [
50,
51], Sagone and colleagues investigated the quality of life in terms of academic self-efficacy, psychological well-being, and resilience in different samples of Italian students [
3,
52,
53,
54]. For example, the authors examined academic self-efficacy, psychological well-being, and procrastination in a sample of 107 Italian university students belonging to different degree courses (scientific fields vs. humanities fields) [
52] and found the following:
(1) Negative correlations between the tendency to procrastinate and psychological well-being (environmental mastery) in the students of both fields.
(2) Negative correlations for only the students in scientific fields between the tendency to procrastinate and academic self-efficacy; this means that the more the students tended to procrastinate, the less they perceived themselves as efficient in the management of crises or unexpected events through personal commitment (self-engagement).
(3) Finally, for only the students in humanities fields, positive correlations between all dimensions of academic self-efficacy and psychological well-being; this means that the more the students perceived themselves as highly efficient, the more they tended to be autonomous, to set goals for their personal growth, to have a positive attitude towards oneself, and to actively create functional environments for one’s own development.
In addition, the same authors carried out further analyses about the relationships among academic self-efficacy, resilience, psychological well-being, and general and decisional procrastination using the Academic Self-Efficacy Scale (ASES), the Academic Resilience Scale (ARS), the Psychological Well-being Scales (PWBs), and the General Procrastination Scale (GPS) with a group of 272 Italian university students [
53,
54]. The results demonstrated that procrastinating behaviour was negatively related to the other psychological variables. The students who highly procrastinated scored lesser in psychological well-being (self-acceptance), in their perception of efficacy regarding their engagement to implement useful strategies to solve a critical situation and self-oriented decision-making, and, finally, in academic resilience (adaptive coping, time management, personal responsibility, and supportive relationships).
Despite the literature confirming how academic self-efficacy significantly affects procrastination in university students, further research has shown that the tendency to procrastinate is linked to another risk factor for academic success, namely the intolerance of uncertainty.
1.3. Relationships among Academic Self-Efficacy, Procrastination, and Intolerance of Uncertainty
As reported in the previous paragraphs, the intolerance of uncertainty is commonly considered a risk factor for the life of individuals. It is also emphasized in the academic context, where the intolerance of uncertainty appears to have a negative impact on the academic achievement of university students. The concept of uncertainty was studied by Birrell and colleagues [
55], who defined it with two components, the “desire for predictability and active engagement in seeking certainty” (prospective intolerance of uncertainty) and the “paralysis of cognition and action in front of uncertainty” (inhibitory intolerance of uncertainty) [
55]. Later, Carleton [
56] defined the intolerance of uncertainty as an “individual’s dispositional incapacity to endure the aversive response triggered by the perceived absence of salient, key, or sufficient information, and sustained by the associated perception of uncertainty” [
56].
Traditionally, this concept has mainly been investigated in people with psychopathology, high levels of stress, emotional disorders, and anxiety because uncertainty was high and not well-tolerated [
57,
58,
59,
60]. However, an increasing number of studies have started to analyse the intolerance of uncertainty in the academic context in light of its relationships with other psychological variables [
61,
62,
63,
64,
65]. In detail, high levels of uncertainty are linked to the use of negative coping strategies [
63], and a high intolerance of uncertainty in decision-making processes is related to an increase in emotional worry and anxiety [
61,
65]. The negative effects of the intolerance of uncertainty on the school life of students have been observed [
66,
67,
68]; it is positively associated with worry and social anxiety among adolescents, as well as with procrastination and an insecure attachment style [
66,
68]. This means that adolescents with secure attachment tend to procrastinate less and tolerate situations and feelings of uncertainty better.
In light of these findings, the consequences of uncertainty and procrastination have been estimated on the academic success of university students. Recently, Mansouri and colleagues [
69] found that fear of failure, self-compassion, and intolerance of uncertainty play a mediating role in the relationship between academic procrastination and perfectionism. Further, Sagone and Indiana [
3] investigated the effects of decision-making styles and the intolerance of uncertainty on procrastination in a group of 209 Italian psychology students, revealing that university procrastinators in their decisions are likely to use dysfunctional decision-making styles (doubtfulness and proxy) and are oriented toward the unacceptability of uncertainty. In addition, in a large sample of 717 Turkish university students, Uzun and Karatas [
70] verified the presence of predictors of academic self-efficacy (positive beliefs about worry and internal locus of control). As confirmed, students’ academic self-efficacy was positively predicted by their positive beliefs about worry and internal locus of control and adversely by their intolerance of uncertainty and external locus of control.
Several studies have explored the above-mentioned topics in relation to the current pandemic of COVID-19, revealing that academic life satisfaction has been damaged by students’ inability to tolerate the uncertainty in reference to COVID-19 [
71]. Further, Oral and Karakurt [
72] demonstrated that the death of a loved one due to COVID-19 increased the levels of intolerance of uncertainty and decreased university students’ hardiness. In addition, Doğanülkü and colleagues [
73] discovered the mediating role of the intolerance of uncertainty in the correlation between procrastination and the fear of COVID-19 in a sample of 450 Turkish university students. Goyal and Sharma [
74] also observed significant and positive relationships among the fear of COVID-19, the intolerance of uncertainty, and maladaptive decision-making.
In conclusion, the analysis of the recent literature confirms the importance of exploring the role of academic self-efficacy on procrastination and the intolerance of uncertainty in academic contexts, especially during the current pandemic. This is useful for promoting specific interventions aimed at improving the quality of life of university students.