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The Existential Model of Perfectionism and Depressive Symptoms: A Short-Term, Four-Wave Longitudinal Study

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Abstract

Perfectionistic concerns (i.e., negative reactions to failures, concerns over others' criticism and expectations, and nagging self-doubts) are a putative risk factor for depressive symptoms. This study proposes and supports the existential model of perfectionism and depressive symptoms (EMPDS), a conceptual model aimed at explaining why perfectionistic concerns confer risk for depressive symptoms. According to the EMPDS, perfectionistic concerns confer risk for depressive symptoms both through catastrophic interpretations that magnify relatively minor setbacks into seemingly major obstacles and through negative views of life experiences as unacceptable, dissatisfying, and meaningless. This investigation tests the EMPDS in a sample of 240 undergraduates studied using a 4-wave, 4-week longitudinal design. Hypotheses derived from the EMPDS were largely supported, with bootstrap tests of mediation suggesting that the indirect effect of perfectionistic concerns on depressive symptoms through catastrophic thinking and difficulty accepting the past is significant. Results indicated perfectionistic concerns are more an antecedent of, rather than a complication of, catastrophic thinking, difficulty accepting the past, and depressive symptoms. Consistent (but imperfect) support for the incremental validity of the EMPDS beyond either perfectionistic strivings or neuroticism was also observed. Overall, this investigation suggests persons high in perfectionistic concerns not only tend to catastrophize their life experiences but also struggle to accept their life experiences and to negotiate a sense of purpose, direction, and coherence in their lives. With both a catastrophic view of their present and a dark view of their past, this investigation also suggests persons high in perfectionistic concerns are at risk for depressive symptoms.
The Existential Model of Perfectionism and Depressive Symptoms:
A Short-Term, Four-Wave Longitudinal Study
Aislin R. Graham, Simon B. Sherry,
and Sherry H. Stewart
Dalhousie University
Dayna L. Sherry
Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre
Daniel S. McGrath, Kristin M. Fossum, and Stephanie L. Allen
Dalhousie University
Perfectionistic concerns (i.e., negative reactions to failures, concerns over others’ criticism and expec-
tations, and nagging self-doubts) are a putative risk factor for depressive symptoms. This study proposes
and supports the existential model of perfectionism and depressive symptoms (EMPDS), a conceptual
model aimed at explaining why perfectionistic concerns confer risk for depressive symptoms. According
to the EMPDS, perfectionistic concerns confer risk for depressive symptoms both through catastrophic
interpretations that magnify relatively minor setbacks into seemingly major obstacles and through
negative views of life experiences as unacceptable, dissatisfying, and meaningless. This investigation
tests the EMPDS in a sample of 240 undergraduates studied using a 4-wave, 4-week longitudinal design.
Hypotheses derived from the EMPDS were largely supported, with bootstrap tests of mediation sug-
gesting that the indirect effect of perfectionistic concerns on depressive symptoms through catastrophic
thinking and difficulty accepting the past is significant. Results indicated perfectionistic concerns are
more an antecedent of, rather than a complication of, catastrophic thinking, difficulty accepting the past,
and depressive symptoms. Consistent (but imperfect) support for the incremental validity of the EMPDS
beyond either perfectionistic strivings or neuroticism was also observed. Overall, this investigation
suggests persons high in perfectionistic concerns not only tend to catastrophize their life experiences but
also struggle to accept their life experiences and to negotiate a sense of purpose, direction, and coherence
in their lives. With both a catastrophic view of their present and a dark view of their past, this
investigation also suggests persons high in perfectionistic concerns are at risk for depressive symptoms.
Keywords: perfectionism, cognitive distortions, existentialism, depression, neuroticism
Depression is a prevalent, impairing, and costly mental health
problem involving symptoms such as sadness, anhedonia, guilt,
fatigue, irritability, and sleep disturbance. Among undergraduates,
such symptoms are tied to health-damaging behavior (e.g., smok-
ing), healthcare expenses, suicide risk, lower grades, missing
classes, and relationship problems (Voelker, 2003). There is thus a
clear need to understand why people become depressed. In the
present study, we conceptualize and measure depression using a
dimensional model wherein depressive symptoms are understood
as lying along a continuum of severity. Our use of this model is
congruent with evidence indicating depression is a quantitative,
continuous dimension (Klein, 2008).
Research consistently implicates perfectionism in the onset
and the maintenance of depressive symptoms (Chang, 2000;
Dunkley, Zuroff, & Blankstein, 2003; Hewitt, Flett, & Ediger,
1996; Rice & Lopez, 2004; Sherry & Hall, 2009). Perfectionism
also predicts depressive symptoms above and beyond estab-
lished contributors to depressive symptoms, including attach-
ment dysfunction, low self-esteem, and ineffective coping
(Rice, Ashby, & Slaney, 1998; Wei, Mallinckrodt, Russell, &
Abraham, 2004). Though evidence suggests perfectionism and
depressive symptoms are robustly linked, there is still much to
learn about their interrelation.
Areas for Improvement in Research on Perfectionism
and Depressive Symptoms
Despite advances in the perfectionism-depressive symptoms
literature (e.g., Dunkley et al., 2003; Rice & Aldea, 2006), areas
This article was published Online First September 20, 2010.
Aislin R. Graham, Daniel S. McGrath, Kristin M. Fossum, and
Stephanie L. Allen, Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University,
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Simon B. Sherry and Sherry H. Stewart,
Department of Psychology and Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie Uni-
versity; Dayna L. Sherry, Department of Psychology, Queen Elizabeth II
Health Sciences Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
This manuscript was based on a research project conducted by Aislin R.
Graham as part of her comprehensive examinations. Aislin R. Graham was
supervised by Simon B. Sherry. This manuscript was supported by a grant
from the Dalhousie University Department of Psychiatry Research Fund
awarded to Simon B. Sherry, Sherry H. Stewart, and Dayna L. Sherry.
Sherry H. Stewart is supported by a Killam Research Professorship from
the Faculty of Science at Dalhousie University. We thank Ellen K. Breen
and Jillian Tonet for their research assistance.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Simon B.
Sherry, Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University, Life Sciences
Centre, 1355 Oxford Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, B3H 4J1.
E-mail: simon.sherry@dal.ca
Journal of Counseling Psychology © 2010 American Psychological Association
2010, Vol. 57, No. 4, 423–438 0022-0167/10/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0020667
423
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
... On the one hand, perfectionism was validated as a risk factor for multiple psychological disorders [31,32]. Theoretically, the existential model of perfectionism and depressive symptoms (EMPDS) could explain why perfectionism is predictive of psychological distress [33]. This theory states that it is difficult for perfectionists to perceive their lives as purposeful, satisfying, and meaningful, making them risky for psychological disorders such as depression [33]. ...
... Theoretically, the existential model of perfectionism and depressive symptoms (EMPDS) could explain why perfectionism is predictive of psychological distress [33]. This theory states that it is difficult for perfectionists to perceive their lives as purposeful, satisfying, and meaningful, making them risky for psychological disorders such as depression [33]. In line with this perspective, empirical studies have identified that maladaptive perfectionism was positively predictive of various psychological maladjustments such as depression, anxiety, and stress [34][35][36]. ...
... More importantly, this study revealed the mediating effect of depression. Our findings supported the existential model of perfectionism and depressive symptoms [33] and the self-medication theory [37], and they were in line with previous findings that showed positive associations between perfectionism and psychological distress [32,34] and associations between depression and IA [47,48]. We provided rational explanations for these findings in the Chinese context. ...
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... Perfectionism is associated with depressive and anxiety disorders (Patston & Osborne, 2016). Individuals who score high on the socially prescribed dimension of perfectionism become depressed due to conflict with consolidating their life experiences as a meaningful personal narrative (Graham et al., 2010). Research results indicate that perfectionism, combined with daily stressors, predicts anxiety and social anxiety (O'Connor et al., 2010). ...
... Socially prescribed perfectionists, due to not having realistic and reliable personal standards, seek to fulfill standards prescribed by significant others in their lives and gain their approval Stoeber, 2014). These individuals, due to the conflict with their life experiences as a meaningful personal narrative, become depressed (Graham et al., 2010). ...
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Objective: This study aimed to examine the relationship between perfectionism and depression and social anxiety among social media users, with an emphasis on the mediating role of rumination. Methods and Materials: The population included social media users with a Bachelor's degree or higher in 2020. A total of 430 individuals (312 women, 118 men) were selected through voluntary sampling and responded to the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale of Tehran (Besharat, 2007), the Ruminative Response Style Scale (Nolen-Hoeksema & Morrow, 1991), the Beck Depression Inventory – Second Edition (Beck et al., 1996), and the Social Phobia Inventory (Connor et al., 2000). Findings: According to Pearson's correlation test results, there is a positive relationship between dimensions of perfectionism and rumination, and between rumination and both depression and social anxiety. There is a positive relationship between dimensions of perfectionism (self-oriented, other-oriented, and socially prescribed) and depression, and two dimensions of perfectionism (other-oriented and socially prescribed) have a positive relationship with social anxiety. Path analysis results showed that perfectionism explains 16% of the variance in rumination, and both perfectionism and rumination explain 43% of the variance in depression, and finally, perfectionism and rumination explain 31% of the variance in social anxiety. Conclusion: Therefore, rumination plays a mediating role in the relationship between dimensions of perfectionism and both depression and social anxiety.
... On the one hand, individuals with high levels of SPP usually experience a sense of failure because of the distinction between their perceived high standards and their actual achievement. This failure and perceived imperfection make them prone to catastrophizing everyday stresses and challenges, which can damage mental health (Graham et al., 2010). Otherwise, individuals with high SPP are also more sensitive to recognizing and responding to external demands (Jiang & Konorova, 2023), which is especially evident in China's interdependent view of the self (DiBartolo & Rendón, 2012). ...
... In interdependent culture, individuals shoulder the responsibility to meet family members' expectations of excellence, and fear that failure or unmet expectations will undermine the fulfillment of responsibilities and damage the construction of the self (Yoon & Lau, 2008). As a result, SPPs passively live their lives by the wishes and expectations of others while lacking a sense of subjectivity and control, which in turn may reduce the authenticity and acceptability of their life experiences (Graham et al., 2010), leading to depression. However, this finding is inconsistent with the idea that SPP may have less damaging effects on Chinese adolescents Fong & Yuen, 2014). ...
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... Meanwhile, the Existential Model of Perfection and Depressive Symptoms (EMPDS; Graham et al., 2010) demonstrates that rumination can mediate the relationship between perfectionism and depression. Striving for perfection leads to continuous retrospection and improper thoughts about previous regrets, which is equivalent to repeated exposure to negative events. ...
... Besides, intrusive rumination played negative mediating roles, while deliberate rumination played positive mediating roles. From the view of EMPDS and the escape theory of suicide, negative perfectionism could persistently remind individuals of their past failures, and the reexposure to negative events could lead to depressive symptoms and eventually develop into suicidal ideation (Baumeister, 1990;Graham et al., 2010;Smith et al., 2018). Meanwhile, positive perfectionism prompted students' initiative to sort out the reasons and solutions to past failures, contributing to reducing negative thoughts (Dunkley et al., 2003). ...
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