Published September 12, 2026. Last updated September 12, 2026.
Somebody sets a goal in January, watches themselves quietly walk away from it by March, and goes looking for a number that would tell them how normal that is. Most pages answering “self-sabotage statistics” hand back a single undated percentage with no study behind it. This page traces every number to the study or survey that produced it, states the population and the year collected, and separates the research that actually measured something (self-handicapping experiments, resolution-tracking studies, one relationship-sabotage scale) from figures that only sound like research.
Key takeaways
- No representative population survey has measured how many people self-sabotage; the closest instrument, the Relationship Sabotage Scale, built on 1,365 volunteers recruited June 2018 to December 2020, reports scale structure only (Peel & Caltabiano, 2021); full tracing at what percentage of people self sabotage.
- Across 36 field studies of school and university students pooled in a 2014 meta-analysis, academic self-handicapping correlated with lower achievement at r = -0.23 among 25,550 students, with individual effects ranging from r = -0.46 to r = 0.02 (Schwinger, Wirthwein, Lemmer, & Steinmayr, 2014).
- Among 411 consecutive patients surveyed at a university family medicine clinic in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in a study published in 1997 with its fieldwork year undisclosed, 6.6% reported at least one deliberate self-sabotaging behavior beyond skipping a prescribed medication or avoiding needed care (Sansone, Wiederman, Sansone, & Mehnert-Kay, 1997).
- Fear of success entered psychology when 65% of college women tested between 1964 and 1971 wrote story endings in which a woman’s success at the top of her medical school class brought her rejection and isolation (Horner, 1972).
- 49% of more than 150,000 adults surveyed across 51 economies in 2024 said fear of failure would stop them from starting a business, up from 44% in the 2019 wave of the same survey (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, 2024/2025).
- In a 200-person sample (fieldwork year undisclosed; published 1988) tracked for two years, 77% of New Year’s resolvers maintained their pledge for one week, and that share fell to 19% by the two-year mark (Norcross & Vangarelli, 1988).
- Among 159 New Year’s resolvers and 123 comparable nonresolvers followed for six months, 46% of resolvers reported success against 4% of nonresolvers wanting the same change (fieldwork year undisclosed; published 2002) (Norcross, Mrykalo, & Blagys, 2002).
Cite this page
APA: Eduard, S. (2026, September 12). Self-sabotage statistics: Every verified number, traced and dated. StumbleTowardTheLight. https://stumbletowardthelight.com/self-sabotage-statistics/
MLA: Eduard, Sebastian. “Self-Sabotage Statistics: Every Verified Number, Traced and Dated.” StumbleTowardTheLight, 12 Sept. 2026, stumbletowardthelight.com/self-sabotage-statistics/.
The source table
| # | Statistic | Data collected | Source type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | No representative survey has measured self-sabotage prevalence; the Relationship Sabotage Scale reports scale structure alone, with no prevalence rate attached | June 2018-December 2020 | derived (absence documented) | Peel & Caltabiano, 2021 |
| 2 | Relationship Sabotage Scale built on three samples of 321, 608, and 436 volunteers, 1,365 total | June 2018-December 2020 | primary study | Peel & Caltabiano, 2021, with its published correction |
| 3 | Scale produced 12 items across three factors: defensiveness, trust difficulty, lack of relationship skills | same fieldwork as row 2 | primary study | Peel & Caltabiano, 2021 |
| 4 | Sample skewed heavily female with minimal gender-diverse and sexually diverse representation, a disclosed limitation | same fieldwork as row 2 | primary study (disclosed limitation) | Peel & Caltabiano, 2021 |
| 5 | Academic self-handicapping correlates with lower achievement at r = -0.23 across 36 field studies, N = 25,550 students | each study carries its own year; meta-analysis published 2014 | primary study (meta-analysis) | Schwinger, Wirthwein, Lemmer, & Steinmayr, 2014 |
| 6 | Individual effect sizes within the same meta-analysis ranged from r = -0.46 to r = 0.02 | same as row 5 | derived (range within meta-analysis) | Schwinger, Wirthwein, Lemmer, & Steinmayr, 2014 |
| 7 | Male undergraduates given unsolvable problems followed by noncontingent praise chose a performance-inhibiting drug over an enhancing one before a second test | fieldwork undisclosed; published 1978 | primary study | Berglas & Jones, 1978 |
| 8 | Companion 1978 paper named the behavior “self-handicapping” and framed it as a strategy for controlling attributions about the self | fieldwork undisclosed; published 1978 | primary study | Jones & Berglas, 1978 |
| 9 | 65% of college women tested wrote story endings where a woman’s success brought her rejection or isolation | sample year undisclosed; tested 1964-1971; published 1972 | primary study | Horner, 1972 |
| 10 | The theory behind that founding number is 54 years old as of this page’s publication | theory published 1972; arithmetic current to 2026 | derived (2026 minus 1972) | Horner, 1972 |
| 11 | 263 predominantly Caucasian college women completed fear of success, fear of failure, test anxiety, and achievement motivation scales; all four proved factorially complex | fieldwork undisclosed; published 1995 | primary study | Piedmont, 1995 |
| 12 | 6.6% of 411 consecutive primary care patients reported at least one deliberate self-sabotaging behavior beyond the two most common items | fieldwork undisclosed; published 1997 | primary study | Sansone, Wiederman, Sansone, & Mehnert-Kay, 1997 |
| 13 | 25.1% of the same 411 patients reported skipping a prescribed medication | fieldwork undisclosed; published 1997 | primary study | Sansone, Wiederman, Sansone, & Mehnert-Kay, 1997 |
| 14 | 37.2% of the same 411 patients reported not seeking care when they needed it | fieldwork undisclosed; published 1997 | primary study | Sansone, Wiederman, Sansone, & Mehnert-Kay, 1997 |
| 15 | 49% of 150,000+ adults across 51 economies said fear of failure would stop them starting a business | 2024 fieldwork; published February 2025 | primary study (multi-country population survey) | Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, 2024/2025 |
| 16 | The same figure stood at 44% in the 2019 fieldwork wave | 2019 fieldwork | primary study (multi-country population survey) | Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, 2024/2025 |
| 17 | The rise from 2019 to 2024 works out to 5 percentage points | 2019 and 2024 fieldwork | derived (rows 15 minus 16) | Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, 2024/2025 |
| 18 | Among 200 New Year’s resolvers tracked for two years, 77% maintained their pledge for one week | fieldwork year undisclosed; published 1988 | primary study | Norcross & Vangarelli, 1988 |
| 19 | The same 200-person cohort held 55% maintenance at one month | same fieldwork as row 18 | primary study | Norcross & Vangarelli, 1988 |
| 20 | 43% maintained their resolution at three months | same fieldwork as row 18 | primary study | Norcross & Vangarelli, 1988 |
| 21 | 40% maintained their resolution at six months | same fieldwork as row 18 | primary study | Norcross & Vangarelli, 1988 |
| 22 | 19% maintained their resolution at the two-year follow-up, the study’s longest measured point | same fieldwork as row 18 | primary study | Norcross & Vangarelli, 1988 |
| 23 | Among 159 New Year’s resolvers followed for six months, 46% reported success | fieldwork year undisclosed; published 2002 | primary study | Norcross, Mrykalo, & Blagys, 2002 |
| 24 | Among 123 comparable nonresolvers wanting the same change, 4% reported success over the same six months | same fieldwork as row 23 | primary study | Norcross, Mrykalo, & Blagys, 2002 |
| 25 | Resolvers were roughly 11.5 times more likely to report six-month success than nonresolvers (46% divided by 4%) | same fieldwork as row 23 | derived (rows 23 divided by 24) | Norcross, Mrykalo, & Blagys, 2002 |
| 26 | Among 1,066 Swedish adults, 55% considered themselves successful at sustaining their resolution one year later | recruited December 2016; fielded through 2017 | primary study | Oscarsson, Carlbring, Andersson, & Rozental, 2020 |
| 27 | The same cohort reported 88.8% feeling successful in January, the study’s first assessment point | same fieldwork as row 26 | primary study | Oscarsson, Carlbring, Andersson, & Rozental, 2020 |
| 28 | That share fell to 54.7% by the December assessment | same fieldwork as row 26 | primary study | Oscarsson, Carlbring, Andersson, & Rozental, 2020 |
| 29 | Approach-framed resolutions succeeded 58.9% of the time | same fieldwork as row 26 | primary study | Oscarsson, Carlbring, Andersson, & Rozental, 2020 |
| 30 | Avoidance-framed resolutions succeeded 47.1% of the time | same fieldwork as row 26 | primary study | Oscarsson, Carlbring, Andersson, & Rozental, 2020 |
| 31 | The gap between approach- and avoidance-framed goals works out to 11.8 percentage points | same fieldwork as row 26 | derived (rows 29 minus 30) | Oscarsson, Carlbring, Andersson, & Rozental, 2020 |
| 32 | Study 1 of a four-study 2005 paper found self-handicapping and poor psychological adjustment reinforcing each other over time | fieldwork undisclosed; published 2005 | primary study | Zuckerman & Tsai, 2005 |
| 33 | Study 2 found a loss in competence satisfaction mediating the link between self-handicapping and worse mood | same paper as row 32 | primary study | Zuckerman & Tsai, 2005 |
| 34 | Study 3 found self-handicappers reporting an increase in substance use over the study period | same paper as row 32 | primary study | Zuckerman & Tsai, 2005 |
| 35 | Study 4 found self-handicappers reporting a loss in intrinsic motivation for their own jobs | same paper as row 32 | primary study | Zuckerman & Tsai, 2005 |
What is self-sabotage?
Self-sabotage is a pattern of behavior that works against a person’s own stated goal, often at the exact moment the goal is within reach. Psychology studies it under several separate labels, each with its own measuring instrument: self-handicapping (arranging an excuse for failure in advance), fear of success (anticipating a social cost for winning), and relationship sabotage (a validated scale scoring defensiveness, trust difficulty, and a lack of relationship skills inside a romantic partnership) (Peel & Caltabiano, 2021). Readers wanting the concept laid out in full can start with what self-sabotage is.
How common is self-sabotage?
No population-wide count exists, though the closest measured slice comes from a primary care sample: 6.6 percent of patients reported at least one deliberate self-sabotaging behavior beyond skipping medication or avoiding care, in a study fielded in 1997 (Sansone, Wiederman, Sansone, & Mehnert-Kay, 1997). Edward Jones and Steven Berglas named self-handicapping in 1978, describing it as building an obstacle in advance so a poor performance already has an explanation waiting (Jones & Berglas, 1978). Their companion experiment found undergraduates whose success felt unearned reaching for a drug that would blur their next result, passing over the one that would have helped it (Berglas & Jones, 1978). The mechanism runs through the psychology of self-sabotage.
What percentage of people self-sabotage?
No figure exists, because no national survey has ever asked a representative population that question. The Relationship Sabotage Scale, the one validated instrument covering a slice of the pattern, was built on 1,365 online volunteers recruited between June 2018 and December 2020 (Peel & Caltabiano, 2021), and it scores how strongly a person leans on defensiveness, trust difficulty, and a lack of relationship skills inside a partnership, not prevalence. It measures a pattern’s structure. It says nothing about how many people carry it. The complete tracing of every attempted number lives at what percentage of people self sabotage.
Why do people self-sabotage?
Research points to a fragile sense of worth pinned to one outcome, protected by lowering that outcome’s odds on purpose. Self-handicapping research since 1978, and its 2005 follow-up, shows people reaching for an obstacle, a drug, a late night, a skipped rehearsal, when a result feels like it will be judged and they cannot guarantee it (Berglas & Jones, 1978). The habit carries a real cost: across four studies, self-handicappers reported a growing loss of competence satisfaction, worsening mood, rising substance use, and draining work motivation (Zuckerman & Tsai, 2005). More at why do people self sabotage.
What causes self-sabotaging behavior?
The clearest causal story comes from self-handicapping experiments, where success that feels unearned pushes a person to protect that explanation before it gets tested again. A 2014 meta-analysis (Schwinger, Wirthwein, Lemmer, & Steinmayr, 2014) of 36 field studies and 25,550 students found academic self-handicapping tracking with lower achievement at r = -0.23, an association that shows up across a wide range of classrooms and ages. Attachment patterns formed early in life also shape who reaches for this reflex around closeness, covered at why do avoidants self-sabotage and self-sabotage and avoidant attachment.
What is self-sabotage a symptom of?
Self-sabotage has no single diagnosis. Self-handicapping research frames it as a symptom of contingent self-worth, where a person’s sense of value depends on one outcome staying favorable. In the primary care sample, 6.6% of patients reported deliberate sabotage beyond skipping medication (25.1%) or avoiding care (37.2%) (Sansone, Wiederman, Sansone, & Mehnert-Kay, 1997). Readers checking their own patterns against concrete markers will get more from why do I self sabotage than from a percentage.
Self-sabotage statistics: what are the most common habits?
The research literature has no ranking by frequency, though some individual habits carry their own measured rate: 25.1 percent of 411 primary care patients surveyed in 1997 reported skipping a prescribed medication (Sansone, Wiederman, Sansone, & Mehnert-Kay, 1997). The studies on this page describe several recurring forms:
- Choosing an obstacle before a performance so failure has a ready explanation (Berglas & Jones, 1978)
- Procrastinating on a task tied to academic achievement (Schwinger, Wirthwein, Lemmer, & Steinmayr, 2014)
- Skipping a prescribed medication or avoiding needed medical care (Sansone, Wiederman, Sansone, & Mehnert-Kay, 1997)
- Abandoning a stated goal within days of setting it (Norcross & Vangarelli, 1988)
- Pulling back from a relationship or opportunity right as it starts to work (Peel & Caltabiano, 2021)
A longer, example-driven list sits at examples of self-sabotaging behavior.
How common is fear of success?
No survey has counted it directly. The founding figure is 65 percent: the share of college women in Matina Horner’s single story-completion sample, tested between 1964 and 1971, who wrote endings assigning a successful woman social punishment, a finding still unreplaced as this page updates in 2026 (Horner, 1972). That theory is now 54 years old, with no population prevalence figure ever replacing it. A related current number covers fear of failure specifically: 49 percent of adults surveyed across 51 economies in 2024 said it would stop them from starting a business, up from 44 percent in 2019 (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, 2024/2025), a five-point rise tied to one decision in one domain.
How common is self-handicapping?
No population-wide count exists, but the classroom literature offers the strongest measured association on this page: across 36 field studies and 25,550 students pooled in a 2014 meta-analysis, self-handicapping correlated with lower achievement at r = -0.23, with individual effects ranging from r = -0.46 to r = 0.02 (Schwinger, Wirthwein, Lemmer, & Steinmayr, 2014). The experiment that gave the behavior its name found the same reflex decades earlier in a controlled lab setting: undergraduates whose success felt unearned chose a drug that would blur their next result (Berglas & Jones, 1978).
What percentage of people give up on their goals?
The sharpest tracked contrast comes from a six-month comparison: just 4 percent of people who wanted a change but made no resolution reported succeeding at it, against 46 percent of matched resolvers, in a study published in 2002 (Norcross, Mrykalo, & Blagys, 2002). In a 200-person sample (fieldwork year undisclosed; published 1988) followed for two years, 77 percent maintained their goal for one week, falling to 55 percent at one month, 43 percent at three months, 40 percent at six months, and 19 percent at two years (Norcross & Vangarelli, 1988). A larger, more recent sample of 1,066 Swedish adults tracked through 2017 found 55 percent still considering themselves successful at one year, down from 88.8 percent in January of the same year (Oscarsson, Carlbring, Andersson, & Rozental, 2020). Both studies describe stated, tracked goals specifically, a narrower slice than every kind of goal a person might hold.
How many people abandon their New Year’s resolutions?
Most of them do. The clearest tracked timelines come from a 1988 cohort study and a 2020 study of 1,066 Swedish adults (Oscarsson, Carlbring, Andersson, & Rozental, 2020), and abandonment slows the longer a resolution survives its first weeks. The 200-person cohort (fieldwork year undisclosed; published 1988) lost 23 percent of its members within the first week, then kept losing members more gradually through the two-year mark, where 19 percent remained (Norcross & Vangarelli, 1988). Framing changes the odds considerably: approach-oriented resolutions succeeded 58.9 percent of the time against 47.1 percent for avoidance-oriented ones, an 11.8 percentage-point gap (Oscarsson, Carlbring, Andersson, & Rozental, 2020). Making the resolution at all still carries weight: resolvers in the 2002 study were roughly 11.5 times more likely to report six-month success than nonresolvers wanting the identical change (Norcross, Mrykalo, & Blagys, 2002).
Why do people self-sabotage their relationships and their own happiness?
The research on romantic relationships points most directly at attachment history. People who learned early that closeness carried risk often manage a good, stable relationship the way they once managed an unreliable caregiver, creating distance right as things go well (Peel & Caltabiano, 2021). This shows up with particular clarity for avoidant attachment, examined at why do avoidants self-sabotage, and the same reflex can spill into a well-earned success at work, covered in the upper limit problem. The pattern’s shape inside a specific partnership sits at self-sabotage in relationships.
The circulated “percentage of people who self-sabotage” numbers
Several pages online state that a fixed share of people, commonly a figure somewhere between 70 and 95 percent, self-sabotage. None of these figures traces to a study, a survey, or a named methodology, a gap that includes the one peer-reviewed instrument on the topic, the 2021 Relationship Sabotage Scale (Peel & Caltabiano, 2021). The checkable facts: no national health survey or representative panel has asked a population whether they self-sabotage, and the Relationship Sabotage Scale, the one peer-reviewed instrument, reports factor structure from 1,365 volunteers with no prevalence claim attached (Peel & Caltabiano, 2021). The closest real numbers sit inside narrow settings: 6.6 percent of primary care patients surveyed in 1997, and a r = -0.23 self-handicapping association across 25,550 students in 2014 (Sansone, Wiederman, Sansone, & Mehnert-Kay, 1997; Schwinger, Wirthwein, Lemmer, & Steinmayr, 2014). The full trace lives at what percentage of people self sabotage.
Methodology
Statistics on this page were selected by checking data/citation-ledger.md‘s existing verified self-handicapping, fear of success, and relationship-sabotage sources against the primary studies they came from, then locating new primary sources for the vacancy themes the mining report flagged: New Year’s resolution abandonment and goal-abandonment research. Every primary study on this page was confirmed against its publishing journal, an indexed full-text copy, or its own reported abstract, and the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor figures were traced to the 2024/2025 Global Report directly. Every undisclosed fieldwork year is recorded plainly as undisclosed. Sources last verified 2026-09-12.
Cite this page
APA: Eduard, S. (2026, September 12). Self-sabotage statistics: Every verified number, traced and dated. StumbleTowardTheLight. https://stumbletowardthelight.com/self-sabotage-statistics/
MLA: Eduard, Sebastian. “Self-Sabotage Statistics: Every Verified Number, Traced and Dated.” StumbleTowardTheLight, 12 Sept. 2026, stumbletowardthelight.com/self-sabotage-statistics/.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a real statistic for how many people self-sabotage?
No representative population survey has measured it. The closest validated instrument, the Relationship Sabotage Scale, was built on 1,365 online volunteers recruited between June 2018 and December 2020 (Peel & Caltabiano, 2021).
What is the most reliable self-sabotage number available?
Across 36 field studies covering 25,550 students, pooled in a 2014 meta-analysis, academic self-handicapping correlated with lower achievement at r = -0.23 (Schwinger, Wirthwein, Lemmer, & Steinmayr, 2014).
How many people give up on New Year’s resolutions?
Most people do. In a 200-person sample (fieldwork year undisclosed; published 1988) tracked for two years, 77 percent held their pledge for one week and 19 percent were still holding it at two years (Norcross & Vangarelli, 1988), while a 2020 study of 1,066 Swedish adults found 55 percent still calling their resolution a success after one year (Oscarsson, Carlbring, Andersson, & Rozental, 2020).
Does how a resolution is worded change the odds of keeping it?
Yes, considerably. Approach-framed resolutions succeeded 58.9 percent of the time against 47.1 percent for avoidance-framed ones in a 1,066-person Swedish study fielded through 2017 (Oscarsson, Carlbring, Andersson, & Rozental, 2020).
How common is fear of success?
No survey has counted it. The founding figure, 65 percent, comes from a single story-completion sample of college women tested between 1964 and 1971, a finding still unreplaced when this page last updated in 2026 (Horner, 1972).
What does self-handicapping cost a person over time?
Across four longitudinal studies, self-handicappers reported a growing loss of competence satisfaction, worsening mood, rising substance use, and draining intrinsic motivation for their own jobs (Zuckerman & Tsai, 2005).
Are people who make resolutions more likely to succeed than people who don’t?
Yes, in the one study that compared them directly: resolvers reported 46 percent six-month success against 4 percent for nonresolvers wanting the same change (Norcross, Mrykalo, & Blagys, 2002).
Related reading
- What Percentage of People Self Sabotage? What the Research Measures
- The Psychology of Self-Sabotage: Why You Keep Destroying What You Build
- Why Do People Self-Sabotage
- Examples of Self-Sabotaging Behavior
- Self-Sabotage in Relationships
- The Upper Limit Problem: What Happens Right After Things Go Well
- Why Do Avoidants Self-Sabotage? The Fear Behind the Pattern
References
Berglas, S., & Jones, E. E. (1978). Drug choice as a self-handicapping strategy in response to noncontingent success. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36(4), 405-417.
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. (2025). GEM 2024/2025 global report: Entrepreneurship reality check.
Horner, M. S. (1972). Toward an understanding of achievement-related conflicts in women. Journal of Social Issues, 28(2), 157-176.
Jones, E. E., & Berglas, S. (1978). Control of attributions about the self through self-handicapping strategies: The appeal of alcohol and the role of underachievement. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 4(2), 200-206.
Norcross, J. C., Mrykalo, M. S., & Blagys, M. D. (2002). Auld lang syne: Success predictors, change processes, and self-reported outcomes of New Year’s resolvers and nonresolvers. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 58(4), 397-405.
Norcross, J. C., & Vangarelli, D. J. (1988). The resolution solution: Longitudinal examination of New Year’s change attempts. Journal of Substance Abuse, 1(2), 127-134.
Oscarsson, M., Carlbring, P., Andersson, G., & Rozental, A. (2020). A large-scale experiment on New Year’s resolutions: Approach-oriented goals are more successful than avoidance-oriented goals. PLOS ONE, 15(12), e0234097.
Peel, R., & Caltabiano, N. (2021). Correction to: The relationship sabotage scale: An evaluation of factor analyses and constructive validity. BMC Psychology, 9, 153.
Peel, R., & Caltabiano, N. (2021). The relationship sabotage scale: An evaluation of factor analyses and constructive validity. BMC Psychology, 9, 146.
Piedmont, R. L. (1995). Another look at fear of success, fear of failure, and test anxiety: A motivational analysis using the five-factor model. Sex Roles, 32(3-4), 139-158.
Sansone, R. A., Wiederman, M. W., Sansone, L. A., & Mehnert-Kay, S. (1997). Sabotaging one’s own medical care: Prevalence in a primary care setting. Archives of Family Medicine, 6(6), 583-586.
Schwinger, M., Wirthwein, L., Lemmer, G., & Steinmayr, R. (2014). Academic self-handicapping and achievement: A meta-analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 106(3), 744-761.
Zuckerman, M., & Tsai, F. F. (2005). Costs of self-handicapping. Journal of Personality, 73(2), 411-442.