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Self-critical perfectionism is a vulnerability factor for depression but not anxiety: A 12-month, 3-wave longitudinal study

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Abstract

It is unclear whether perfectionism is an antecedent of depressive symptoms, a consequence of depressive symptoms, or both. Furthermore, no study has tested reciprocal relations between perfectionism and anxiety symptoms, despite theory suggesting perfectionism both leads to, and results from, anxiety symptoms. We recruited 302 undergraduates and tested reciprocal relations between self-critical perfectionism and depressive and anxiety symptoms using a 12-month, 3-wave longitudinal design. Self-critical perfectionism predicted increases in depressive symptoms; depressive symptoms did not predict changes in self-critical perfectionism. Self-critical perfectionism was also a concomitant of, but not an antecedent or consequence of, anxiety symptoms. Results complement theory suggesting self-critical perfectionism is a vulnerability factor for depressive symptoms.

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... The influence of self-critical perfectionism on mental health has been studied extensively in both high school and university students. Longitudinally, selfcritical perfectionism is a robust predictor of depressive symptoms over time in adolescence and emerging adulthood (e.g., Levine, Green-Demers, Werner, & Milyavskaya, 2019;O'Connor, Rasmussen, & Hawton, 2010;Sherry, Richards, Sherry, & Stewart, 2014). Although a multitude of research provides evidence for the perniciousness of perfectionism, there has yet to be extensive research on the mechanism that could explain why university students higher in self-critical perfectionism are so vulnerable to experiencing depressive symptoms over this transitional period. ...
... During the transition to university, feeling out of control or like a failure may be a normative occurrence when dealing with the many changes that accompany this life transition (Bayram & Bilgel, 2008). Although some research has examined how perfectionism and stress can lead to depressive symptoms (Dunkley et al., 2014;Levine & Milyavskaya, 2018;Sherry et al., 2014), the present research aims to further explore the etiology of how mental-health problems arise during the transition to university by comparing two hypotheses-a diathesisstress and a downward-spiral model (Fig. 1). ...
... Attrition is normative during longitudinal research, and the overall attrition in this research was not greater than average for longitudinal research with this population type (Dunkley et al., 2014;Levine et al., 2017;Sherry et al., 2014;. However, attrition can be a concern when this dropout is systematic. ...
Article
Transitioning to university may be especially difficult for students who expect perfection from themselves. Self-critical perfectionism has consistently been linked to poor mental health. The current study compares a diathesis-stress and a downward-spiral model to determine why self-critical perfectionism is detrimental for mental health during this transition. First-year students ( N = 658) were recruited before beginning university in August and contacted again in October, January, and April. Participants completed measures on perfectionism, stress, and depressive symptoms. Evidence was found for a downward-spiral model with self-critical perfectionism but not a diathesis-stress model. Students higher in self-critical perfectionism were more likely to experience increased stress and depressive symptoms in a circular and additive manner. Conversely, students higher in personal-standards perfectionism experienced less stress and subsequent depressive symptoms. This research provides a theoretical model for why self-critical perfectionism is related to poor mental-health outcomes that become sustained over time.
... Dunkley and Blankstein's construct of selfcritical perfectionism formally combines these constructs [6]. Sherry posits that self-critical perfectionism involves four constructs described earlier in the literature [7]: self-criticism [2], socially prescribed perfectionism [1], concern over mistakes, and doubts about actions [3]. ...
... However, McGrath, et al. did not find support for the claim that self-critical perfectionism makes people more vulnerable to increased levels of anxiety [18]. While research clearly suggests a concomitant link of cooccurring self-critical perfectionism and anxiety symptoms, further study is needed to understand the exact ways in which they influence one another [7]. ...
... The link between perfectionism and depression is well documented [1][2][3]7,8,12,13,16] . Using the Frost MPS, the strongest predictors of depression are concerns over mistakes and doubts about actions [16,19]. ...
... Longitudinally, self-critical perfectionism is a robust predictor of depressive symptoms over time in adolescence and emerging adulthood (e.g. Levine, Green-Demers, Werner & Milyavskaya, 2018;O'Connor, Rasmussen & Hawton, 2010;Sherry, Richards, Sherry & Stewart, 2014). Although there is a multitude of research providing evidence for the perniciousness of perfectionism, there has yet to be extensive research on the mechanism that could explain why university students higher in self-critical perfectionism are so vulnerable to experiencing depressive symptoms over this transitional period. ...
... During the transition to university, feeling out of control or like a failure may be a normative occurrence when dealing with the many changes that accompany this life transition (Bayram & Bilgel, 2008). Although some research has examined how perfectionism and stress can lead to depressive symptoms (Dunkley et al., 2014;Sherry et al., 2014), the present research aims to further explore the etiology of how mental health problems arise during the transition to university by comparing two hypotheses -a diathesisstress and a downward spiral model. ...
... Attrition is normative during longitudinal research, and the overall attrition in this research was not greater than average for longitudinal research with this population type (Dunkley et al., 2014;Levine et al., 2017;Sherry et al., 2014;. ...
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Transitioning to university may be especially difficult for students who expect perfection from themselves. Self-critical perfectionism has consistently been linked to poor mental health. The current study compares a diathesis-stress and a downward spiral model, to determine why self-critical perfectionism is detrimental for mental health during this transition. First-year students (N=658) were recruited prior to beginning university in August and contacted again in October, January, and April. Participants completed measures on perfectionism, stress and depressive symptoms. Evidence was found for a downward spiral model with self-critical perfectionism, but not a diathesis-stress model. Students higher in self-critical perfectionism were more likely to experience increased stress and depressive symptoms in a circular and additive manner. Conversely, students higher in personal standards perfectionism experienced less stress and subsequent depressive symptoms. This research provides a theoretical model for why self-critical perfectionism is related to poor mental health outcomes which become sustained over time.
... Among university students, perfectionism has been studied extensively in relation to mood and well-being. In these studies, self-critical perfectionism has been consistently related to increases in depression and anxiety symptoms (Enns & Cox, 1999;Hewitt & Flett, 1991;Hewitt, Flett, & Ediger, 1996;Sherry, Richards, Sherry, & Stewart, 2014). Conversely, personal standards perfectionism has been negatively correlated or uncorrelated with anxiety and depression (Enns & Cox, 1999;Frost et al., 1990;Levine & Milyavskaya, 2018;Stoeber & Otto, 2006). ...
... Even though both types of perfectionism are highly correlated in the present sample, there was a distinct maladaptive outcome for students that highly identified with the self-critical facet of perfectionism. In university and clinical populations, the relationship between self-critical perfectionism and depression and anxiety has been studied extensively (Enns & Cox, 1999;Hewitt & Flett, 1991;Hewitt et al., 1996;Sherry et al., 2014). The present research explores the relationship between perfectionism and mental health longitudinally in adolescence, which has received less research attention. ...
... The present research explores the relationship between perfectionism and mental health longitudinally in adolescence, which has received less research attention. Perfectionism is a relatively stable trait, and our results replicate the general relationship between self-critical perfectionism and psychological distress over time (Sherry et al., 2014;Smith et al., 2018). Adolescence is a particularly vulnerable time period for the development of mental illness, so it was important to test this hypothesis with this population (National Institute of Mental Health, 2015). ...
Article
Introduction: The present study examined the influence of personal standards and self-critical perfectionism on depressive and anxiety symptoms over the academic year. Methods: High-school students (N = 174) were surveyed in the late Fall and early Spring, assessing perfectionism in the Fall and mental health across the year in both the Fall and Spring. Path modelling was used to examine whether self-critical and personal standards perfectionism were related to changes in mental health across the school year. Results: Controlling for mental health at the start of the year, self-critical perfectionism predicted an increase in depressive symptoms over time, whereas personal standards perfectionism was unrelated to changes in mental health. Discussion: Results support that self-critical perfectionism is detrimental to mental health in adolescents, suggesting that future interventions should focus on reducing self-critical cognitive biases in youth.
... Self-critical perfectionism is composed of high personal striving, as well as harsh self-evaluation, fear of failure and concerns over mistakes (Dunkley & Blankstein, 2000). Self-critical perfectionists have increased levels of negative affect, anxiety, and depression, compared to personal standards perfectionists and non-perfectionists (Harvey et al., 2015;Sherry, Richards, Sherry, & Stewart, 2014). Self-critical perfectionists are also more likely to use maladaptive coping strategies, such as avoidant coping and self-blame, which leads to less daily satisfaction and more daily stress (Stoeber & Janssen, 2011). ...
... Nevertheless, that study provides initial evidence that selfcritical perfectionism may be inversely related to the self-serving bias. Given that self-critical perfectionists are more prone to depression and anxiety (Sherry et al., 2014), and that those with depression or anxiety are less likely to utilize a self-serving bias, we sought to directly examine the effects of self-critical (and personal standards) perfectionism on self-serving attributional bias. We propose that self-critical perfectionists will attribute successful goal attainment to external sources and failure or abandonment of a goal to the self (internal source). ...
... This research provides evidence that self-critical perfectionists use the self-serving bias in a reversed or attenuated manner. This may explain why self-critical perfectionists experience more adverse mental health problems (Sherry et al., 2014). Future studies need to investigate this relationship longitudinally, looking at how these attributions mediate the link between perfectionism and mental health and well-being. ...
Preprint
In the present study, we examined whether personal standards and self-critical perfectionism differentially related to how people attributed their success and failures in pursuing their personal goals. In two studies (Ns=185 and 240), participants set three week-long (Study 1) and semester-long (Study 2) goals, and at the end of the week or semester answered questions about goal status, internal and external attributions, and likelihood to reset the goal. Mulitlevel analyses showed that self-critical perfectionism was related to attributing goal attainment to external sources; this was not the case for failure or abandonment. Conversely, personal standards perfectionism was related to attributing failure more to external sources. Overall, these results highlight differences in how perfectionism influences the use of the self-serving bias.
... The shortest time-frame was just 7 weeks (Sturman et al., 2015) and the longest time-frame was 10 years (Brewin & Firth-Cozens, 1997). Looking at the retention of participants over time, only five studies retained at least 80% of participants by T2 (Gautreau et al., 2015;Liu et al., 2012;McGrath et al., 2012;Sherry et al., 2013Sherry et al., , 2014 and only one study retained at least 80% of participants by T3 and T4 (McGrath et al., 2012). Four studies did not report their retention/attrition rates (Priel & Shahar, 2000;Shahar, 2006;Spasojević & Alloy, 2001;Yao et al., 2009). ...
... Ten studies observed a significant positive relationship between self-criticism at T1 and depression at T2 (Brewin & Firth-Cozens, 1997;McGrath et al., 2012;Peleg-Sagy & Shahar, 2015;Priel & Shahar, 2000;Sherry et al., 2013;Sherry et al., 2014;Shulman et al., 2009;Spasojević & Alloy, 2001;Sturman et al., 2015). For most of these studies a moderate effect size was observed, with three studies demonstrating a strong effect size (McGrath et al., 2012;Priel & Shahar, 2000;Sherry et al., 2014). ...
... Ten studies observed a significant positive relationship between self-criticism at T1 and depression at T2 (Brewin & Firth-Cozens, 1997;McGrath et al., 2012;Peleg-Sagy & Shahar, 2015;Priel & Shahar, 2000;Sherry et al., 2013;Sherry et al., 2014;Shulman et al., 2009;Spasojević & Alloy, 2001;Sturman et al., 2015). For most of these studies a moderate effect size was observed, with three studies demonstrating a strong effect size (McGrath et al., 2012;Priel & Shahar, 2000;Sherry et al., 2014). For one of these studies the relationship was observed using both self and informant report of selfcritical perfectionism (Sherry et al., 2013). ...
Article
Self-criticism is a trans-diagnostic construct that has been receiving considerable research and clinical attention. The purpose of this systematic review was to explore whether there is evidence from prospective studies that self-criticism is significantly associated with subsequent symptoms of psychopathology. Searches were carried out in four electronic databases: PsychInfo, Embase, Medline and The Web of Science Core Collection. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed and data was extracted and synthesised. Sixteen studies were identified for inclusion in this review, investigating depression only (n = 12), depression and anxiety (n = 2), depression and terrorism-related perceived stress (n = 1) and social anxiety (n = 1). In terms of depression, ten studies observed self-criticism, with weak to moderate effect sizes, to significantly predict an increase in symptoms over time. In terms of anxiety, none of the three studies found self-criticism to significantly predict an increase in symptoms over time. The one study of terrorism-related perceived stress found self-criticism, with a weak effect size, to significantly predict an increase in symptoms over time. The methodological quality of studies ranged from fair to good, with study attrition, and its subsequent consideration in the analysis process, being a primary methodological flaw. The use of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ) to measure self-criticism was also problematic as this scale was designed to measure self-critical depression and includes items about depression. This systematic review provides some evidence that there is a significant prospective relationship between self-criticism and symptoms of psychopathology amongst a student sample, with the strongest evidence for depression.
... Self-critical perfectionism is composed of high personal striving, as well as harsh self-evaluation, fear of failure and concerns over mistakes (Dunkley & Blankstein, 2000). Self-critical perfectionists have increased levels of negative affect, anxiety, and depression, compared to personal standards perfectionists and non-perfectionists Sherry, Richards, Sherry & Stewart, 2014). Self-critical perfectionists are also more likely to use maladaptive coping strategies, such as avoidant coping and selfblame, which leads to less daily satisfaction and more daily stress (Stoeber & Janssen, 2011). ...
... Nevertheless, that study provides initial evidence that self-critical perfectionism may be inversely related to the self-serving bias. Given that self-critical perfectionists are more prone to depression and anxiety (Sherry et al., 2014), and that those with depression or anxiety are less likely to utilize a self-serving bias, we sought to directly examine the effects of selfcritical (and personal standards) perfectionism on self-serving attributional bias. We propose that self-critical perfectionists will attribute successful goal attainment to external sources and failure or abandonment of a goal to the self (internal source). ...
... This research provides evidence that self-critical perfectionists use the self-serving bias in a reversed or attenuated manner. This may explain why self-critical perfectionists experience more adverse mental health problems (Sherry et al., 2014). Future studies need to investigate this relationship longitudinally, looking at how these attributions mediate the link between perfectionism and mental health and well-being. ...
Article
Full-text available
In the present study, we examined whether personal standards and self-critical perfectionism differentially related to how people attributed their success and failures in pursuing their personal goals. In two studies (Ns = 185 and 240), participants set three week-long (Study 1) and semester-long (Study 2) goals, and at the end of the week or semester answered questions about goal status, internal and external attributions, and likelihood to reset the goal. Mulitlevel analyses showed that self-critical perfectionism was related to attributing goal attainment to external sources; this was not the case for failure or abandonment. Conversely, personal standards perfectionism was related to attributing failure more to external sources. Overall, these results highlight differences in how perfectionism influences the use of the self-serving bias.
... Several related pieces of research probed into the relationship between self-criticism and anxiety and depression. Existing longitudinal studies have identified self-critical perfectionism as a consequence rather than a cause of social anxiety, but one cross-sectional study found all negative elements significant predictors of anxiety (Carvalho et al., 2022;Gautreau et al., 2015;Sherry et al., 2014), while as for depression, self-judgement stood more as an antecedent of those symptoms (Levine et al., 2019;Matos-Pina et al., 2023;Sherry et al., 2014). Therefore, we propose that self-judgement positively predicts depression at a later time point, and shares a bidirectional prediction with anxiety, and self-kindness in the opposite direction. ...
... Several related pieces of research probed into the relationship between self-criticism and anxiety and depression. Existing longitudinal studies have identified self-critical perfectionism as a consequence rather than a cause of social anxiety, but one cross-sectional study found all negative elements significant predictors of anxiety (Carvalho et al., 2022;Gautreau et al., 2015;Sherry et al., 2014), while as for depression, self-judgement stood more as an antecedent of those symptoms (Levine et al., 2019;Matos-Pina et al., 2023;Sherry et al., 2014). Therefore, we propose that self-judgement positively predicts depression at a later time point, and shares a bidirectional prediction with anxiety, and self-kindness in the opposite direction. ...
Article
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Objectives Self-compassion has gained researchers’ attention in recent years, yet up to now there is no evidence concerning how the six different components of self-compassion interact with mental health, such as depression and anxiety in older people. Network analysis provides approaches to investigate such detailed associations among those variables in a more meticulous way. The current study aimed to model a cross-lagged network of components of self-compassion, depression, and anxiety with longitudinal data to unveil their temporal relationships among seniors. Method A sample of 345 community-dwelling elderly individuals (mean age = 83.81, 44.9% male) in Nanjing, China, was assessed with the Self-Compassion Scale and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 three times with an interval of 6 months in between. Two cross-lagged panel networks were examined to model the temporal associations among elements of self-compassion, depression, and anxiety. Results The T1–T2 Network yielded two notable cross-lagged edges while the T2–T3 Network yielded five notable edges. Centrality analysis identified depression to be the most influential in both networks, while common humanity and over-identification showed a high inclination of both influencing and being influenced by other variables in the two networks. Conclusions The study not only provided some evidence for the tendency for these elements of self-compassion to covary, but also found an unusually positive relationship between the positive components of self-compassion and anxiety, and those relations were rather unstable, highlighting the need for future studies to replicate these findings. The high influence of depression in the two networks and the complicated role of common humanity and over-identification also need further exploration into their mechanisms. Preregistration This study is not preregistered.
... fectionism and depressive symptoms (e.g., Mandel, Dunkley, & Moroz, 2015; see Smith et al., 2016 for a review). However, the evidence for SC perfectionism predicting anxiety over time has been mixed (e.g., Sherry, Richards, Sherry, & Stewart, 2014; see Smith, Vidovic, Sherry, Stewart, & Saklofske, 2018). Little research has examined the conditions under which individuals with higher SC perfectionism are most vulnerable to depression and anxiety over time. ...
... Consistent with previous studies (e.g., Sherry et al., 2014;see Smith et al., 2018), SC perfectionism did not directly predict anxious symptoms over time in the present study. This further suggests that simple main effect models may not be sufficient to reliably show a predictive relationship between SC perfectionism and anxiety. ...
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This study of 152 community adults examined whether perfectionism interacts with daily perceived control to predict depressive and anxious symptoms over four years. Participants completed measures of higher-order perfectionism dimensions [self-critical (SC), personal standards (PS)] and neuroticism at Time 1, daily diaries for 14 consecutive days to assess perceived control over most bothersome events at Time 2 three years later, and measures of depressive and anxious symptoms at Time 1, Time 2, and Time 3 four years after baseline. Hierarchical regression analyses of moderator effects demonstrated that individuals with higher SC perfectionism at Time 1 and lower perceived control across daily stressors at Time 2 had higher levels of depressive symptoms at Time 3 than others, adjusting for the effects of Time 1 and Time 2 depressive and anxious symptoms. Higher SC perfectionism also interacted with lower perceived control to predict Time 3 anxious symptoms. PS perfectionism and neuroticism did not interact with perceived control to predict Time 3 depressive or anxious symptoms. These findings highlight the importance of addressing cognitive appraisals of one’s control over handling daily stressors for the prevention and treatment of depressive and anxious symptoms in individuals with higher SC perfectionism.
... In contrast, evaluative concerns perfectionism is often related to negative outcomes and is defined by an individual's desire to achieve excessively high standards, but is also accompanied by negative cognitive biases, such as fear of failure, concerns over mistakes, doubts about actions, and being generally critical of one's accomplishments or oneself (Blankstein & Dunkley, 2002;Frost et al., 1990). Individuals higher in evaluative concerns perfectionism are more likely to experience increased depression, anxiety, stress, and negative affect, compared to nonperfectionists and those higher in personal standards perfectionism (Dunkley & Blankstein, 2000;Dunkley, Zuroff, & Blankstein, 2003;Levine, Werner, Capaldi, & Milyavskaya, 2017;Milyavskaya et al., 2014;Sherry, Richards, Sherry, & Stewart, 2014). In contrast, personal standards perfectionism is often uncorrelated with psychological distress and those higher in personal standards perfectionism often experience greater positive affect, vitality, and satisfaction with life, especially when compared to those higher in evaluative concerns perfectionism (Gaudreau & Verner-Filion, 2012;Gilman & Ashby, 2003;Harvey et al., 2015). ...
... Whereas evaluative concerns perfectionism presents itself as pervasively negative throughout the entire literature, the findings for personal standards perfectionism are often inconsistent. Some research finds that personal standards perfectionism is related to reduced depression and increased well-being, and other research suggests that it is unrelated to well-being outcomes (Blankstein & Dunkley, 2002;Harvey et al., 2015;Milyavskaya et al., 2014;Sherry et al., 2014;Smith, Saklofske, Yan, & Sherry, 2017). Perhaps, individuals higher in personal standards perfectionism experience a reprieve from stress by placing differing standards on themselves across domains. ...
Preprint
This study examined 1) whether perfectionism relates to stress, affect, and vitality similarly at the between-person and domain-specific levels; 2) how much personal standards and evaluative concerns perfectionism vary between domains and how this variability is related to well-being. Students (N=580) selected four important domains and completed surveys on domain and general perfectionism and well-being. In multilevel analyses (with n=2320 domains), perfectionism was related to well-being outcomes similarly at the trait and domain-level. There was more variability across domains in personal standards than in evaluative concerns perfectionism. Variability in personal standards perfectionism was positively related to depression. Overall, results suggest that examining perfectionism within multiple personally-relevant domains can better explain how perfectionism influences well-being. Further research needs to examine perfectionism with this multi-level approach.
... Perfectionism leads to depression (McGrath et al., 2012;Sherry et al., 2014). According to the Vulnerability Model of Perfectionism (Hewitt & Flett, 1993), perfectionistic tendencies predispose individuals to cognitive distortions in response to stress, often perceiving moderate or low-level stressors as high-intensity pressure. ...
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Perfectionists often experience elevated stress levels due to their tendencies toward compulsions, rigidity, and the relentless pursuit of unrealistically high standards. Humor has proven to be an effective coping mechanism for stress; however, the type of humor employed plays a crucial role. Hence, it is valuable to explore whether perfectionists effectively utilize humor strategies to manage stress. Additionally, it is important to determine which humor styles are most beneficial for them. Through four studies, we aimed to demonstrate the effectiveness of humor strategies for stress relief among perfectionists. Studies 1 and 2 utilized the Chinese version of the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (CFMPS), the 32-item Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ), and the Trait Anxiety Inventory (TAI) in cross-sectional analyses. In Studies 3 and 4, we employed the stressful movie paradigm and a stressful life event recall paradigm to induce stress in a laboratory setting, manipulating perfectionism and humor separately. The findings indicated a positive association between perfectionism and both self-enhancing and self-defeating humor, with adaptive perfectionism being more closely linked to self-enhancing humor and maladaptive perfectionism to self-defeating humor. Both the cross-sectional and laboratory studies demonstrated that self-enhancing humor was more effective in relieving stress for perfectionists than self-defeating humor.
... The literature refers to a greater trend of research on perfectionism in relation to mood and well-being in undergraduate students (Limburg et al., 2017;Sherry et al., 2014;Smith et al., 2021). However, these concepts have not been studied exclusively in adults, but also in children and adolescents (Ferrari et al., 2018;Levine et al., 2019;Miloseva & Vukosavljevic-Gvozden, 2014;Rice et al., 2007). ...
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Few studies have examined common patterns between perfectionist traits, depressive symptomatology and anxiety in adolescents. We analyzed these simultaneous associations and identified the most influential measures through network analysis. A total of 533 high school Peruvian students (48.97% female) participated from two educational institutions. Adapted Oros’ Perfectionism, Reynolds Depression Scale and a single item school anxiety measure for adolescents were used. Spinglass algorithm found a solution of three domains of perfectionism: self-demands, distress-worry and reactions to failure, as well as one cluster of depressive symptoms. When analyzing the interconnections between these dimensions, it was found that worry-distress perfectionism (WDP) and reactions to failure perfectionism (RFP) played a central role in activating other variables in the network. In particular, RFP had the strongest connection with depression, while WDP was related to school anxiety. On the other hand, self-demands perfectionism was the only dimension that showed a negative relationship with depressive symptoms. These findings suggest that perfectionist reactions focused on anticipating and responding to errors may share common patterns that should be addressed to reduce depression and school anxiety in adolescents.
... Echoing theories, maladaptive perfectionism has been consistently found to be related to psychological distress. Cross-sectional studies showed that it is related to stress (Einstein et al., 2001), depression (Dunkley et al., 2000;Minarik & Ahrens, 1996;Sherry et al., 2014;Wang et al., 2009, Xie et al., 2019), anxiety (Anthony et al., 1998Coles et al., 2003;Dunkley et al., 2000;Einstein et al., 2001), and general distress (Kong et al., 2021). Longitudinal studies also revealed that maladaptive perfectionism predicted increases in depressive symptoms in non-clinical samples (Smith et al., 2017), and the persistence of depressive symptoms in participants with depression (Enns & Cox, 2005;Hewitt et al., 1996). ...
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Perfectionism as a personality trait can be seen as having both adaptive and maladaptive dimensions. Nevertheless, their relationships with psychological distress remain mixed in the current literature. Previous studies were also limited by the use of impure measurements and the failure to statistically control for the effects of the other dimension. By addressing these major limitations and exploring the mediating and moderating roles of self-esteem and self- compassion, the current study provides an in-depth examination of the relationships between bidimensional perfectionism and psychological distress. In a community sample of 503 adults, results supported a bidimensional view of perfectionism, with maladaptive perfectionism positively predicting psychological distress and adaptive perfectionism being unrelated to psychological distress. Self-esteem was found to mediate the relationships between both dimensions of perfectionism and psychological distress. Self-compassion was only found to moderate the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and self-esteem. Whilst the maladaptive nature of maladaptive perfectionism was supported in this study, findings suggested that adaptive perfectionism remains a more complicated construct. Future studies should aim at clarifying the nature and psychological outcomes of adaptive perfectionism.
... In addition, mindful yoga might target mechanisms that seem to be involved in the onset and maintenance of depression, thereby reducing symptoms of depression. These mechanisms include rumination (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2000) and self-criticism (Sherry et al., 2014), both of which have been found to be more present in women than in men (Powers et al., 2004), which might partially explain the observed sex differences in depression (Hamilton et al., 2015). ...
... Other study findings support this notion, in which among a group of Asian international students, those with high levels of self-critical perfectionism demonstrated better overall adjustment than individuals with low self-critical perfectionism (e.g., Suh et al., 2014), indicating favorable perception and operation of self-critical perfectionism among those with strong ties to Asian culture and its values. In contrast to this finding, self-critical perfectionism was primarily conceptualized as a risk factor of mental distress among White samples and was, in fact, empirically validated as a predictor of future depression (Sherry et al., 2014). ...
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A body of research has been dedicated to demonstrating the relationship of perfectionism with a range of mental health indicators. Self-critical perfectionism, a component of perfectionism, has been framed primarily in a negative light within the mental health context. Given that research informs educational and clinical practices, it is important to explore the degree to which such findings generalize across cultures and subcultures. The current meta-analytic research systemically collated studies conducted with Asian college students with a particular attention to exploring whether orientation to Asian culture and cultural values correspondingly moderates the relationship between self-critical perfectionism and depressive symptoms. The degree of upholding Asian cultural values was represented by group identity (i.e., Asian American and Asian international). Eleven studies (N = 3,239) were identified through the literature search. Findings from the random-effects meta-analysis indicated a significant relationship between self-critical perfectionism and depressive symptoms in the overall sample. The group identity significantly moderated the relationship; among Asian international college students, self-critical perfectionism appeared to have a less harmful effect on mental distress compared to Asian American college students. Self-cultivation-one of the salient and virtuous Asian cultural values that aligns with self-critical perfectionism-may have motivated continuous striving for self-improvement to fulfill the honorable duty for their family for Asian international students. Additional findings and implications of the study are further discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
... These models posit that a personality characteristic such as perfectionism is either a temporary or a permanent outcome of psychopathology such as depression. A few studies have examined the complication/scar model of perfectionism and found reciprocal relations between perfectionism and depression (McGrath et al., 2012), and perfectionism predicting depression only, supporting against the complication/scar model (Sherry et al., 2014). In sum, there is stronger evidence for the vulnerability model of perfectionism in predicting depression. ...
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Perfectionism is a vulnerability factor for a wide array of psychopathology. Despite much evidence suggesting dysregulated stress response as an intermediary process that links perfectionism to psychopathology, the lack of a cross-lagged examination deterred researchers from making causal interpretations. This study examined the directionality of effects among perfectionism dimensions, stress reactivity, and depression. A total of 189 participants at time 1 and 94 at time 2 completed an online survey that consisted of measures of perfectionism, stress reactivity, and depression, one month apart. Cross-lagged analysis results showed that personal standards perfectionism predicted later prolonged stress reactivity but not depression at time 2. Self-critical perfectionism predicted later depression but not prolonged stress reactivity at time 2. Rather, prolonged stress reactivity at time 1 predicted self-critical perfectionism at time 2. Findings suggest that perfectionism dimensions are distinct in creating a dysregulated stress process. Future studies could incorporate other stress-related variables (e.g., coping) to further explicate the stress-generation process, in conjunction with stress reactivity.
... McGrath et al. (2012) found transactional relations between perfectionism and depressive symptoms over a 4-week period, although they did not examine depressive episodes or depressed patients. However, another study found that self-critical perfectionism predicted increases over time in depression symptoms but not vice versa (Sherry et al., 2014). In contrast, Shahar et al. (2004b) found that, in female adolescents, self-criticism and depressive symptoms showed a transactional relationship over a 1-year period. ...
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In this chapter, we review theory and evidence pertaining to the complex associations between parenting, offspring temperament, and offspring risk for internalizing disorders, including major depression and anxiety disorders. Understanding these complex associations is important for multiple reasons. First, a large body of literature has confirmed that individual differences in children’s and youths’ temperament or pertsonality traits can elucidate which youth are potentially vulnerable to internalizing disorders. More recent research has also begun to clarify the complex pathways and interactions with environmental factors, such as parenting and life stress, through which temperament may confer risk for internalizing disorders. It is also well-established that internalizing disorders are frequently heterogeneous in terms of the nature and severity of symptom presentation. Children’s personality traits may be useful in understanding this heterogeneity as certain traits may be associated with a relatively more or less severe presentation or course of a disorder. Moreover, identifying parenting behaviors or styles that confer risk for the development of maladaptive temperament traits may lead to interventions to prevent the development of these maladaptive traits, and potentially mitigate the vulnerability to mood and anxiety disorders. There is additional evidence that personality traits may be useful in tailoring treatment approaches as well as predicting who will best respond best to different therapeutic approaches. Here, we review specific models pertaining to parenting, temperament, and internalizing disorders grounded in psychoanalytic, humanistic, and cognitive–behavioral perspectives as well as developmental, social, and personality psychologists’ theories related to parenting and temperamental development. Throughout this chapter, we adopt a dynamic-interactionist framework that considers the complex interactions between these factors, as opposed to models that view one factor as simply an outcome of another. We review evidence regarding the influence of parenting on the development of children’s temperamental traits, and evidence that children’s traits are not only linked to internalizing symptoms but these traits also predict increases in symptoms over time as well as the onset of diagnosable episodes of internalizing disorders. However, we also review a growing body of literature that suggests children’s temperament traits and symptoms influence the parenting they receive, thus creating a pernicious cycle. We then review a large body of research examining diathesis-stress models, or the possibility that individual differences in personality traits may exacerbate or buffer the effects of parenting on psychopathological outcomes. We also consider evidence that mood and anxiety disorders may have a “scarring” effect on children’s temperament traits. Additionally, we discuss evidence about “pathoplasty” models, which propose that temperament traits may contribute to the severity or pattern of symptomatology, course, and response to treatment. Next, we discuss implications for clinicians, parents, and educators in terms of the early identification and prevention of mood and anxiety disorders in youth based on the parenting they receive and the nature of their temperamental traits. We conclude with a case example elucidating these complex associations between personality traits, parenting, and the development of internalizing disorders.
... In one of the only studies to examine whether a depressive episode predicts later change in self-criticism, Kopala-Sibley et al. (2017) found that depressive diagnoses were not related to change in selfcriticism 9 months later. Finally, a handful of studies have examined whether subthreshold depressive symptoms influence later selfcriticism or perfectionism, with some studies finding that depressive symptoms predict increases over time in self-criticism or perfectionism (McGrath et al., 2012;Shahar et al., 2004b;Shahar & Henrich, 2019;Schiller et al., 2016;Zuroff et al., 1990), although others have failed to find such an effect (Sherry et al., 2014). ...
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Research into the brain bases of mental health has flourished in the last few decades and has provided important insights into associations between brain function or structure and psychopathology. Research to date has largely adopted a precursor or predisposition assumption about the relationship between the brain and psychopathology; that is, that altered brain structure or function (BSoF) precedes and causes psychopathology such that sufficiently altered BSoF will lead to a psychological disorder. However, close to 60 years of research into the psychological bases of psychopathology suggests the relationship between individual traits, the environment (i.e., stress), and psychopathology is dynamic, interactional, and complex. As such, drawing on the substantial literature examining dynamic interactional relationships between personality traits, stress, and psychopathology, the aim of this review is to highlight clinical neuroscience research examining the brain–stress–psychopathology relationship from a dynamic interactionist perspective. In particular, we consider (a) how brain structure/function may lead to increased stress, (b) how stress may alter brain structure/function, (c) how brain structure/function may interact with (i.e., moderate) the effects of stress on psychopathology, (d) how psychopathology may alter brain structure/function, (e) how brain structure/function may not just lead to psychopathology but also influence the course and severity of psychopathology as well as treatment prognosis, and (f) how brain structure/function may represent a state- versus trait-marker of psychopathology. Such dynamic-interactionist perspectives may lead to a better understanding of the brain–stress–psychopathology relationship in the future. Public Significance Statement—Much research has examined associations between brain structure or function and psychopathology. However, less research has examined dynamic interactional models of the brain–stress–psychopathology relationship. In this paper, drawing on a long history of personality–stress–psychopathology research, we selectively review clinical neuroscience evidence regarding different models of the brain–stress–psychopathology relationship and propose a dynamic-interactionist perspective of this relationship. La recherche sur les bases cérébrales de la santé mentale s'est développée au cours des dernières décennies et a fourni des informations importantes sur les associations entre la fonction ou la structure du cerveau et la psychopathologie. Jusqu'à présent, la recherche a largement adopté une hypothèse de précurseur ou de prédisposition concernant la relation entre le cerveau et la psychopathologie, à savoir que l'altération de la structure ou de la fonction cérébrale (BSoF) précède et cause la psychopathologie, de sorte qu'une BSoF suffisamment altérée entraînera un trouble psychologique. Cependant, près de 60 ans de recherche sur les bases psychologiques de la psychopathologie suggèrent que la relation entre les traits individuels, l'environnement (c.-à-d. le stress) et la psychopathologie est dynamique, interactionnelle et complexe. En tant que tel, en s'appuyant sur la littérature substantielle examinant les relations interactionnelles dynamiques entre les traits de personnalité, le stress et la psychopathologie, l'objectif de cet examen est de mettre en évidence la recherche en neuroscience clinique examinant la relation cerveau-stress-psychopathologie dans une perspective interactionniste dynamique. En particulier, nous examinons (a) comment la structure ou le fonctionnement du cerveau peut conduire à une augmentation du stress, (b) comment le stress peut modifier la structure le fonctionnement du cerveau, (c) comment la structure ou le fonctionnement du cerveau peut interagir avec (c'est-à-dire modérer) les effets du stress sur la psychopathologie, (d) comment la psychopathologie peut modifier la structure ou le fonctionnement du cerveau, (e) comment la structure ou le fonctionnement du cerveau peut non seulement conduire à la psychopathologie mais aussi influencer le cours et la gravité de la psychopathologie ainsi que le pronostic du traitement, et (f) comment la structure ou le fonctionnement du cerveau peut représenter un marqueur d'état ou de trait de la psychopathologie. De telles perspectives interactionnistes dynamiques pourraient conduire à une meilleure compréhension de la relation cerveau–stress–psychopathologie à l’avenir. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)
... Nas últimas décadas, os estudos em conceituação e avaliação do perfeccionismo aumentaram exponencialmente (Flett & Hewitt, 2016). A avaliação do perfeccionismo tem sido cada dia mais relevante para compreensão de diferentes desfechos relacionados à saúde mental, tais como: transtornos ansiosos, depressão, transtornos alimentares, transtorno de personalidade obsessivo-compulsiva, transtorno obsessivo compulsivo, além do perfeccionismo ser considerado como fator responsável por pior resposta a tratamentos psicoterápicos (Egan, Wade, Shafran, & Antony, 2014;Newby et al., 2017;Pinto et al., 2017;Sherry, Richards, Sherry, & Stewart, 2014;Smith, Saklofske, Yan, & Sherry, 2017). ...
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The study of perfectionism as a multidimensional construct has increased since the 1990's. The Almost Perfect Scale (APS-R) is widely used across studies to measure perfectionism; it is composed by three dimensions: High Standards, Discrepancy, and Order. However, despite increasing interest in the measurement of perfectionism, there were no scales available for Brazilian-Portuguese. Accordingly, we aimed to adapt the APS-R and to analyze the psychometric properties and test confirmatory models for the Brazilian version of the Almost Perfect Scale (APS-R Brasil). A sample of university students (n=787) with a mean age 25.98 years (SD=7.29), 79.3% women, completed the APS-RB. The adapted items demonstrated semantic, cultural and conceptual adequacy.
... " There is consensus among scholars to consider perfectionism as a multidimensional construct that entails positive and negative sides (19). Several researchers have observed that perfectionism may have underpinnings in anxiety disorders (20), (21), social and panic disorder (22), depression (23), (15), (24), and suicide (25). All of these multidimensional-related research shows the importance of investigating perfectionism using multivariate models to examine and assess variables that may have an intersection with it. ...
... Perfectionism is defined as a strong pursuit of perfection and flawlessness, accompanied by an excessive tendency to self-criticism and fear of judgment (Frost et al., 1990, Hewitt & Flett, 1991. This characteristic, although susceptible to change and often motivated by external factors (Ashbaugh, Antony, Liss, Summerfeldt, McCabe, & Swinson, 2007;Suh, Sohn, Kim, & Lee, 2019), is often observed as having a tendency to being relatively stable in time (Rice & Aldea, 2006;Sherry, Richards, Sherry, & Stewart, 2014). The authors of the most popular current model of perfectionism, Hewitt and Flett (1991), perceive perfectionism as personality characteristic with three main manifestations: self-oriented perfectionism (the expectation of self-perfection in everything that is done), other-oriented perfectionism (strong expectation from others, especially significant ones, that they will aim for perfection and not make mistakes), and socially prescribed perfectionism (the belief of an individual that other people, especially important and close ones, expect them to be flawless and perfect). ...
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Parental identity formation may be a factor of the utmost importance in helping us to understand the mechanisms of adaptation to parenthood. However, our knowledge regarding the processes involved in the development of parental identity is very limited. In the present study the relationships between three dimensions of parental identity (commitment, in-depth exploration, reconsideration of commitment), and two trait-like characteristics that determine the quality of family life, i.e. romantic adult attachment and perfectionism were analyzed. 206 mothers aged 22 to 40 participated in the study (M = 33.33, SD = 3.68). The results revealed that a high level in anxious attachment, avoidant attachment and maladaptive aspects of perfectionism (other-oriented and socially-prescribed perfectionism) positively correlate with a low level of parental identity commitment and a high level of reconsideration of parental commitment. Regression analysis revealed that especially attachment-related anxiety and other-oriented perfectionism can be treated as independent, specific predictors of an increased crisis of parental identity.
... Keywords: perfectionism; processes; transdiagnostic; personal standards; evaluative concerns; self-criticism; dichotomous thinking; cognitive biases; experiential avoidance; cognitive behavioural treatment -----CET ARTICLE EST PROTÉGÉ PAR UN COPYRIGHT JUSQU'EN 2024------Le perfectionnisme fait l'objet d'un intérêt grandissant compte tenu de son rôle dans l'apparition et / ou le maintien de nombreux troubles psychopathologiques (p.ex., Douilliez, Rivière, & Dupont, 2016 ;Egan, Wade, & Shafran, 2011). Le perfectionnisme serait un facteur de maintien (Egan, Wade, Shafran, & Antony, 2014) pour des troubles tels que la dépression (p.ex., Flett, Madorsky, Hewitt, & Heisel, 2002 ;Sherry, Richards, Sherry, & Stewart, 2014), les troubles obsessionnels compulsifs (TOC) (p.ex., Pinto, Dargani, Wheaton, Cervoni, Rees, & Egan, 2017), les troubles des conduites alimentaires (TCA) (p.ex., Bardone-Cone, Sturm, Lawson, Robinson, & Smith, 2009) ou encore le syndrome de fatigue chronique (p.ex., Brooks, Chalder, & Rimes, 2017 ;Deary & Chalder, 2010). Pourtant, sa définition tout comme les processus psychologiques qui le constituent et ses échelles de mesure, ne font pas encore l'objet d'un consensus (Dunkley, Sanislow, Grilo, & McGlashan, 2006). ...
Article
Perfectionism is a phenomenon that is gaining an increasing interest among researchers and health practitioners. However, no consensus currently exists concerning its definition, and there is still a lack of experimental and longitudinal studies. The purpose of this article is to shed light on this phenomenon using a process-based approach. As a first step, we introduce the theoretical and conceptual evolution of perfectionism. We distinguish between multidimensional conceptualizations and the cognitive-behavioural conceptualization of this construct. Across both, perfectionism is characterized by a cognitive and behavioural inflexibility. The latter maintains a functional impact and can lead to psychopathological disorders. In a second step, we review the psychological transdiagnostic processes of the first step conceptualizations, which underline inflexibility. We examine self-imposed personally demanding standards setting, evaluative concerns, self-criticism, dichotomous thinking, cognitive biases, ruminations, and experiential avoidance. We also briefly discuss the interpersonal consequences linked to perfectionism. As a third and final step, we outline clinical guidelines for targeting perfectionism within therapeutic treatments. We further detail the cognitive-behavioural treatment of Egan, Wade, Shafran, and Antony (2014) as it tackles the transdiagnostic processes of perfectionism and has received stronger empirical support.
... Vrlo zabrinjava i podatak da većina tih psihičkih poremećaja kod studenata ostaje netretirana (Hunt i Eisenberg, 2010). Zbog svega navedenoga postoji velika potreba za istraživanjem faktora rizika za razvoj psihičkih poremećaja kod studenata, a njihova identifikacija mogla bi odrediti smjer njihova tretmana (Sherry, Richards, Sherry i Stewart, 2014). ...
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Zbog povećanja učestalosti psihičkih poremećaja kod studenata cilj ovog istraživanja bio je ispitati u kojoj se mjeri individualne razlike u pojavi anksioznosti mogu objasniti perfekcionizmom, netolerancijom neizvjesnosti, ruminacijom i usredotočenom svjesnošću te postoje li razlike među studentima u izraženosti prethodno spomenutih konstrukata s obzirom na razinu usredotočene svjesnosti. Na uzorku od 317 studenata prosječne dobi od 21 godine dobiveno je kako odabrani konstrukti objašnjavaju 31,5 % varijance anksioznosti te da su anksiozniji oni koji više ruminiraju i nisu usredotočeno svjesni. Osim toga, utvrđeno je kako su najviše razine mjerenih konstrukata zabilježene kod studenata koji su nisko na usredotočenoj svjesnosti. Provedeno istraživanje znatno pridonosi razumijevanju kod nas relativno neistraženih konstrukata te ima mnoge praktične implikacije. / Due to an increase in prevalence of psychological disorders among students, the aim of this study was to explore the degree to which individual differences in the levels of anxiety can be explained by perfectionism, intolerance of uncertainty, rumination and mindfulness and to explore the differences in the levels of the aforementioned constructs considering the level of mindfulness. The results on 317 college students aged 21 have shown that the chosen constructs explain 31,5 % of the variance in the anxiety symptoms. In other words, those students who have ruminative thought style and are not mindful have higher levels of anxiety. Furthermore, the highest levels in all measured constructs were present among students low on mindfulness. This study significantly contributes to the understanding of relatively lesser known constructs and has many practical implications.
... found support for higher rank-order relative stability on standards (reflective of perfectionistic strivings) and discrepancy (reflective of perfectionistic concerns) with rs ranging from .76 to .88 for standards and .76 to .87 for discrepancy. Similarly, test-retest reliability ranged from .75 to .80 among college students across three time-points in a span of 1 year (Sherry, Richards, Sherry, & Stewart, 2014). ...
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Extending Lloyd, Schmidt, Khondoker, and Tchanturia (2015), this review and meta-analysis evaluated the effectiveness of randomized controlled trials aimed at reducing perfectionism and associated symptoms of depression and anxiety. Of particular interest was the examination of a moderator of delivery method (face-to-face vs. online) in testing the effectiveness of psychological interventions. Also examined is the effect of two structural moderators (control condition type, sample characteristic). A total of 10 studies were identified (65 perfectionism effect sizes, 8 depression effect sizes, and 8 anxiety effect sizes). Psychological interventions were effective in decreasing perfectionism dimensions, depression, and anxiety with medium effect sizes. There were no significant differences in delivery modality, control condition type, and sample characteristic on effect sizes. Findings suggest that psychological interventions are generally effective in reducing perfectionism, although there is no apparent delineation in increasing "adaptive" perfectionism and decreasing "maladaptive" perfectionism. Although comparable benefits were shown in face-to-face and online intervention delivery modes, we suggest prudently incorporating online interventions into clinical practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
... McGrath et al. (2012) found transactional relations between perfectionism and depressive symptoms over a four-week period, although they did not examine depressive episodes or depressed patients. However, another study found that self-critical perfectionism predicted increases over time in depression symptoms but not vice versa (Sherry, Richards, Sherry, & Stewart, 2014). In contrast, Shahar, Blatt, Zuroff, Kuperminc, and Leadbeater (2004b) found that, in female adolescents, self-criticism and depressive symptoms showed a transactional relationship over a one-year period. ...
... Perfectionism was established as a transdiagnostic maintenance process for anxiety, mood, and eating disorders by a review in 2011 (Egan, Wade, et al., 2011); this review also indicated that perfectionism prospectively predicts eating disorders, depression, and bipolar disorder. More recent research supports this and indicates that perfectionism may predict anxiety symptoms (Mackinnon, Battista, Sherry, & Stewart, 2014;Mandel, Dunkley, & Moroz, 2015), although findings are mixed as to whether the relationship is prospective or concurrent (Gautreau, Sherry, Mushquash, & Stewart, 2015;Sherry, Richards, Sherry, & Stewart, 2014). Table 1 provides a summary of transdiagnostic processes and research establishing their transdiagnostic status. ...
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An ever-growing number of transdiagnostic processes that maintain psychopathology across disorders have been identified. However, such processes are not consistently associated with psychological distress and symptoms. An understanding of what makes such processes pathological is required. One possibility is that individual differences in rigidity in the implementation of these processes determine the degree of psychopathology. The aim of this article is to examine the relationship between rigidity/flexibility and transdiagnostic maintenance processes. Initial searches were made for research examining relationships between 18 transdiagnostic processes and rigidity/flexibility. Relationships between rumination, perfectionism, impulsivity and compulsivity, and rigidity/flexibility were systemically reviewed; 50 studies met inclusion criteria. The majority of studies indicated that transdiagnostic cognitive and behavioral maintenance processes and rigidity were correlated, co-occurring, or predictive of each other. Findings are consistent with the hypothesis that it is inflexibility in the manner in which processes are employed that makes them pathologically problematic. However, further research is required to test and establish this.
... Therefore, the F/S IAT assesses the extent to which participants automatically evaluate failing as more negative than suffering, and suffering as more positive than failing, at an automatic level. Showing a preference to suffer and self-critical tendencies have been demonstrated to be maladaptive characteristics (e.g., Dunkley, Sanislow, Grilo, & McGlashan, 2009;Shapiro, 2001;Sherry, Richards, Sherry, & Stewart, 2014). Therefore, it was hypothesized that the more participants evaluated failing as more negative than suffering, and suffering as more positive than failing on the F/S IAT, the slower they would gain weight. ...
Article
The aim of this study was to investigate whether indirectly and directly assessed disorder‐relevant attributes moderate the body mass index (BMI) curves over the course of treatment in anorexia nervosa, as is predicted by dual process models. The moderating role of two Implicit Association Tests (IAT) and of two questionnaires assessing aspects of striving for perfection was examined in 27 patients by means of linear mixed models. The Aiming at Perfection Single Category‐IAT and the directly assessed achievement striving dimension of perfectionism moderated patients' BMI curves over the course of treatment. Moreover, the Single Category‐IAT predicted the outcome variable over and above the directly assessed attribute. Experiencing oneself as more achievement striving compared to others at an automatic level predicted a faster weight gain. These findings show that aspects of multidimensional perfectionism—assessed at the automatic and at the reflective level—predict treatment outcome in anorexia nervosa.
... There is substantial empirical support for this model as evidenced by the findings of Smith et al.'s (2016) meta-analysis as well as individual studies that have directly tested the model by assessing reciprocal effects. For example, Sherry, Richards, Sherry and Stewart (2014) found that PC predicted depression over 12 months for a group of students, with no reciprocal effects evident. In addition, in sport, Madigan et al.'s (2015) study can also be considered to support this model in that PC predicted athlete burnout over a three month period, again, no reciprocal effects were evident. ...
Article
The relationship between perfectionism, burnout and depression among youth soccer players is of interest due to the competitive academy environments that must be navigated in order to become a professional soccer player. Three alternative theoretical models have been proposed to explain the relationship between perfectionism, burnout and depression. These models state that perfectionism is (a) a vulnerability factor for burnout and depression (vulnerability model), (b) a consequence of burnout and depression (complication/scar model), or (c) that the relationships are reciprocal (reciprocal relations model). The purpose of this study was to test these three models in youth soccer players. One hundred and eight male soccer players (M = 16.15 years, SD = 1.84) from professional clubs completed measures of perfectionism, burnout symptoms, and depressive symptoms twice, three months apart. Cross-lagged panel analysis provided support for a reciprocal relations model for burnout symptoms and a complication/scar model for depressive symptoms.
... Self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism were also assessed with Flett, Hewitt, Boucher, Davidson, and Munro's (2000) Child and Adolescent Perfectionism Scale (CAPS), O'Connor, Dixon, and Rasmussen's (2009) 14-item version of the CAPS and the modified self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism subscales of Garner, Olmsted, and Polivy's (1983) Eating Disorder Inventory (see Joiner & Schmidt, 1995). Additionally, one study used the 5item short form of the MPS concern over mistakes subscale and the 5-item short form of the HMPS socially prescribed perfectionism subscale: Sherry, Richards, Sherry, and Stewart (2014). Evidence suggests these subscales assess stable traits. ...
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Background: Over 50 years of theory and research implicates perfectionism in anxiety. However, it is unclear which (if any) perfectionism dimensions are risk factors for anxiety. Objective: To address this, we conducted a meta-analysis testing whether socially prescribed perfectionism, concern over mistakes, doubts about actions, self-oriented perfectionism, and personal standards predict increases in anxiety. Method: Our literature search yielded 11 relevant studies for inclusion, composed of children, adolescents, undergraduates, community adults, and psychiatric patients. Results: Meta-analysis using random-effects models revealed concern over mistakes (r+ = .11), doubts about actions (r+ = .13), and personal standards (r+ = .08), but not socially prescribed perfectionism or self-oriented perfectionism, displayed significant small positive relationships with follow-up anxiety, after controlling for baseline anxiety. Conclusion: Research is needed to understand the conditions under which the connection between perfectionism and anxiety becomes stronger (e.g., stress).
... To date, it is unclear if the cognitive distortions of perfectionists represent a risk factor for depression (Hewitt et al., 1996;O'Connor et al., 2010;Sherry, Richards, Sherry, & Stewart, 2014), are an outcome of depression (Asseraf & Vaillancourt, 2015;Cox & Enns, 2003), or if they share a reciprocal relation with depression (McGrath et al., 2012). Even though the findings are equivocal on the direction of association, it is important to establish the temporal precedence between depression and perfectionism as such knowledge can be used to help guide clinical intervention and prevention. ...
Article
The codevelopment of symptoms of depression and socially prescribed perfectionism across adolescence (age 12–17) and non–age-overlapping childhood predictors (age 10–11) of joint trajectory group membership were examined in a sample of 700 Canadian youth. Results indicated that most adolescents (75.8%) followed a trajectory of low depression symptoms (low stable), whereas 15.7% followed an increasing trajectory (increasing), and 8.5% followed a trajectory that began high and decreased over time (high decreasing). More girls than boys were found in the increasing and high decreasing depression trajectories. Adolescents followed three distinct trajectories of socially prescribed perfectionism: 41.6% were in a low stable group, 40.5% in a moderate increasing group, and 17.9% in a high increasing group. Eight percent followed a high-risk dual trajectory of increasing depression and high increasing socially prescribed perfectionism. This joint trajectory was predicted by being bullied, anxious, and relationally aggressive (compared to the low-risk trajectory of low stable depression and perfectionism) at ages 10 and 11. These same predictors, along with poorer family functioning and lower family income, differentiated the joint high decreasing depression/high increasing perfectionism group from the low/low joint group, which comprised of 3.8% of the sample. The developmental progression was best characterized as depression leading to socially prescribed perfectionism. Implications for clinical practice are discussed.
... Low self-esteem has an important role in these behaviors exhibited by perfectionist individuals (Atasoy, 2014). Studies indicate that perfectionism has a positive relationship with depression Bieling et al., 2003;Argus & Thompson, 2008;Sherry et al., 2014;Cheng et al., 2015), anxiety (Kawamura et al., 2001), personality traits (Hewitt, Flett, & Turnbull, 1992;Stoeber et al., 2015), and eating disorders (Brouwers & Wiggum, 1993;Shafran & Mansell, 2001;Stice, 2002;Jacobi et al., 2004;Bardone-Cone et al., 2007;Egan, Wade, & Shafran, 2011;Luo et al., 2013). Similarly, unhealthy perfectionism appears to have a negative relationship with self-esteem (Ashby & Rice, 2002). ...
... All three core psychotherapy modalities, cognitive (Beck, 1963), psychodynamic (Blatt, 2004), and experiential treatments such as emotion-focused therapy (EFT; Greenberg & Watson, 2006), identify self-criticism as an emotion schematic vulnerability to depression. Self-criticism has also been shown to predict the onset and severity of depression (Abela, Webb, Wagner, Ho, & Adams, 2006;Hawley, Zuroff, Brozina, Ho, & Dobson, 2014;Sherry, Richards, Sherry, & Stewart, 2014;Zuroff, Igreja, & Mongrain, 1990). Considering that self-critically depressed clients also often experience poorer outcomes in group cognitive-behavioural therapy (Enns, Cox, & Pidlubny, 2002) and supportive-expressive therapy (Blatt, 2004) as well as higher rates of depressive relapse (Hawley et al., 2014), there is a clear need for research that more closely examines how self-critical processes can be resolved. ...
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This study tested emotion-focused therapy (EFT) theory assumptions concerning optimal emotion schematic processing during experiential psychotherapies. Emotion schematic change was investigated in the particular problem context of resolving self-criticism, an emotion schematic vulnerability to depression identified across all major psychotherapy theories. The sample was nine highly self-critical depressed clients who received experiential treatment (n = 5 resolved while n = 4 did not resolve their self-criticism by termination). Emotion episodes (EEs) were exhaustively sampled from five sessions across three therapy phases (early, working phase, and termination) for each client. All their EEs across therapy were coded using a process measure called the Classification of Affective-Meaning States. Three complementary analytic procedures were used to examine emotion schematic changes within and across phases of therapy: graphical/descriptive, linear mixed modelling, and THEME sequential pattern analysis. Convergent evidence from these analyses supported EFT theory. Good resolvers of self-criticism decreased expression of secondary emotions and increased expression of primary adaptive emotions. Good resolvers also exhibited more sequences of EEs consistent with transformation of secondary and maladaptive emotions to adaptive emotions. Future directions of this research are discussed.
Article
Background The widespread use of online social networks, particularly among the younger demographic, has catalyzed a growing interest in exploring their influence on users’ psychological well-being. Instagram (Meta), a visually oriented platform, has garnered significant attention. Prior research has consistently indicated that Instagram usage correlates with heightened levels of perfectionism, body dissatisfaction, and diminished self-esteem. Perfectionism is closely linked to self-criticism, which entails an intense self-scrutiny and is often associated with various psychopathologies. Conversely, self-compassion has been linked to reduced levels of perfectionism and stress, while fostering greater positive affect and overall life satisfaction. Objective This study investigates the relationship between Instagram usage (time of use and content exposure) and users’ levels of self-compassion, self-criticism, and body dissatisfaction. Methods This study comprised 1051 adult participants aged between 18 and 50 years, either native to Spain or residing in the country for at least a decade. Each participant completed a tailored questionnaire on Instagram usage, along with abbreviated versions of the Self-Compassion Scale, the Body Shape Questionnaire, and the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire, spanning from January 23 to February 25, 2022. Results A positive correlation was observed between daily Instagram usage and self-criticism scores. Participants of all age groups who spent over 3 hours per day on Instagram exhibited higher self-criticism scores than users who spent less than 1 hour or between 1 and 3 hours per day. Contrary to previous findings, no significant relationship was detected between Instagram usage time and levels of self-compassion or body dissatisfaction. Furthermore, content centered around physical appearance exhibited a positive correlation with self-criticism and body dissatisfaction scores. Among younger participants (aged 18-35 years), those who primarily viewed beauty or fashion content reported higher self-criticism scores than those consuming science-related content. However, this association was not significant for participants aged 35-50 years. Conversely, individuals who predominantly engaged with sports or fitness or family or friends content exhibited higher levels of body dissatisfaction than those focusing on science-related content. No significant associations were observed between self-compassion scores and daily Instagram usage or most-viewed content categories. Conclusions The findings of this study underscore the considerable impact of Instagram usage on self-criticism and body dissatisfaction—2 variables known to influence users’ psychological well-being and be associated with various symptoms and psychological disorders.
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Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the corresponding lockdown have drastically changed our lives and led to high psychological distress and mental health problems. This study examined whether psychological factors such as loneliness, perfectionism, and health anxiety are associated with COVID-19 related anxiety and depression during the pandemic in young Korean adults, after controlling for various socio-demographic factors and early life stress. Methods A total of 189 participants (58.2% women) completed a cross-sectional online survey including the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, 3-item Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, and Whiteley Index-6. Hierarchical linear regression analyses with three blocks were employed to identify the factors that contributed to COVID-19 related anxiety and depressive symptoms. Results Hierarchical regression analyses showed that higher health anxiety was significantly associated with more severe COVID-19 related anxiety (standardized regression coefficient, β = 0.599, p < 0.001). Additionally, higher levels of loneliness (β = 0.482, p < 0.001), perfectionism (β = 0.124, p = 0.035), and health anxiety (β = 0.228, p < 0.001) were significantly associated with higher depression scores. The three psychological factors explained 32.8% of the total variance in depressive symptom scores, after taking all covariates into account. Conclusion The results showed that health anxiety was a risk factor for both COVID-19 related anxiety and depression in young adults. Loneliness was the strongest predictor of depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings highlight the importance of identifying vulnerable individuals and encouraging psychological counselling and social connections to reduce the burden of psychiatric disorders during the pandemic.
Article
Perfectionism is a transdiagnostic process contributing to the onset and maintenance of anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and depression. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine the association between perfectionism, and symptoms of anxiety, OCD and depression among young people aged 6-24 years. A systematic literature search retrieved a total of 4,927 articles, with 121 studies included (Mpooled age = ~17.70 years). Perfectionistic concerns demonstrated significant moderate pooled correlations with symptoms of anxiety (r = .37-.41), OCD (r = .42), and depression (r = .40). Perfectionistic strivings demonstrated significant, small correlations with symptoms of anxiety (r = .05) and OCD (r = .19). The findings highlight the substantial link between perfectionistic concerns and psychopathology in young people, and to a smaller extent perfectionistic strivings, anxiety, and OCD. The results indicate the importance of further research on early intervention for perfectionism to improve youth mental health.
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The purpose of this study was to examine associations between multidimensional perfectionism and anxiety across the school year in a sample of first-generation high school students (i.e., neither parent completed post-secondary school). Three competing theoretical models were tested (i.e., the vulnerability model, in which perfectionism predicts increased psychopathology; the scar model, in which psychopathology predicts increased levels of perfectionism; and the reciprocal causality model, in which perfectionism and psychopathology predict each other over time). The sample included 148 high school students (44% boys) between the ages of 13 and 18 (M=14.90 years; SD=1.29) who were surveyed at the beginning and end of the school year. Using a half-longitudinal design with latent cross-lagged analyses, results indicated that greater anxiety predicted higher levels of self-oriented perfectionism over time, after accounting for age, sex, emotional stability, and conscientiousness. Findings support the scar model whereby psychopathology predicts perfectionism in first-generation youth.
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Self-critical perfectionism (SCP) is a common personality trait among young adults that is associated with high levels of depression and low emotional disclosure. We tested (1) whether negative beliefs about emotions (NBE) mediated the relationship between SCP and emotional disclosure and (2) whether NBE and emotional disclosure sequentially mediated the relationship between SCP and depression in a young adult sample (N = 322). Structural equation modelling results indicated that NBE mediated the relationship between SCP and emotional disclosure, but NBE and emotional disclosure did not sequentially mediate the relationship between SCP and depression; NBE partially mediated the relationship between SCP and depression. NBE may warrant further investigation in the context of SCP and depression among young adults.
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Psychological stress has become a major concern, potentially leading to diverse health problems including psychopathology such as depression and anxiety. Transactional Model of Stress and Coping is an established model, conceptualizing stressful experiences via person- environment relationship. This cross-sectional study aimed to explore the pathway from stress to depression/anxiety, with a focus on self-criticism (inadequate-self and hated-self) and self-reassurance (reassured-self) in Czech students who suffered from high prevalence of mental health problems. Convenience sample of 119 undergraduates completed the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 and the Forms of the Self-Criticising/Attacking & Self-Reassuring Scale. Correlation and path analyses were conducted. The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines were used to aid an accurate and complete report of the study. Depression, anxiety and stress were positively associated with inadequate-self and hated-self, while negatively associated with reassured-self. Both inadequate-self and hated-self partially mediated the stress-depression and stress-anxiety relationships, whereas reassured-self only partially mediated the stress-depression relationship. Inadequate-self had greater impact on the stress-depression/anxiety pathways than hated-self and reassured-self. Findings indicate that clinical treatment may benefit from targeting the feelings of inadequacy to prevent stress progressing to psychopathology. This is particularly relevant as stress levels are rising globally. Our findings offer developments to the Transactional Model, and help practitioners and educators identify solutions to protect mental health of Czech university students.
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This laboratory study examines the unique influences of the superordinate personality dimensions perfectionistic concerns and perfectionistic strivings on change in state anxiety elicited by a social-evaluative stressor. A sample of 85 adult participants completed perfectionism measures and a Big Five inventory. The following day, the same participants attended a laboratory session, during which they were unexpectedly requested to prepare and deliver a speech. Participants completed a measure of state anxiety upon arrival at the lab and after the speech task was introduced. Results revealed that the perfectionistic concerns dimension was uniquely associated with post-stressor state anxiety, after controlling for neuroticism, perfectionistic strivings, and pre-stressor state anxiety. Perfectionistic strivings were not uniquely related to an increase in state anxiety and did not attenuate the association between perfectionistic concerns and anxious reactivity. These results are most consistent with the notion that a subtype of “pure” evaluative concerns perfectionism is associated with heightened anxious reactivity to pertinent stressors.
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Recent studies have shown that forgiveness can predict mental health and the quality of relationships. The present study investigates the moderating role of types of forgiveness (self, other, and position) on the relationship between perfectionism and interpersonal problems. A total of 286 students (154 girls, 132 boys) from University of Tehran participated in this study. Participants completed Tehran Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (Besharat, 2007), Dispositional Hartland Forgiveness Scale (Thompson, Snyder, Hoffman, Michael, Rasmussen, et al., 2005), and Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (Besharat, 2016). Results showed that the types of forgiveness are negatively related to dimensions of perfectionism and this relationship was different between girls and boys. Also, dimensions of perfectionism were positively related to interpersonal problems in both men and women. Generally, types of forgiveness mediated the association between perfectionism and interpersonal problems. Based on these results, it can be concluded that perfectionism is not entirely a maladaptive trait. When perfectionism is accompanied by forgiveness, it may be efficient. A comparison between girls and boys revealed an influential role for sex on the relationships between variables studied.
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This study examined (1) whether perfectionism relates to stress, affect, and vitality similarly at the between-person and domain-specific levels; (2) how much personal standards and evaluative concerns perfectionism vary between domains and how this variability is related to well-being. Students (N = 580) selected four important domains and completed surveys on domain and general perfectionism and well-being. In multilevel analyses (with n = 2320 domains), perfectionism was related to well-being outcomes similarly at the trait and domain-level. There was more variability across domains in personal standards than in evaluative concerns perfectionism. Variability in personal standards perfectionism was positively related to depression. Overall, results suggest that examining perfectionism within multiple personally-relevant domains can better explain how perfectionism influences well-being. Further research needs to examine perfectionism with this multi-level approach.
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Recent studies of anxiety and depression among students indicate there is an increase in psychological problems in that population. Given that those problems can negatively affect their academic and everyday functioning, it is of great importance to identify and study factors related to problems with psychological health. Hence, the aim of this study was to examine the relationship between negative perfectionism, ruminative thought style, intolerance of uncertainty and mindfulness with anxiety and depression as well as their contribution in explaining the symptoms of anxiety and depression. Furthermore, the aim was to examine the differences in negative perfectionism, intolerance of uncertainty, ruminative thought style, depression and anxiety between those who are high and low on mindfulness. The study was conducted on 317 students in the Republic of Croatia whose age ranged from 18 to 41. Scales used in the study were general information questionnaire, Positive and Negative Perfectionism Scale (PNPS; Terry-Short et al., 1995), Ruminative Thought Style Questionnaire – RTS; Brinker & Dozois, 2009), Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (NN-11; Mihić et al., 2014), Mindful Attention Awareness Scale – MAAS; Brown & Ryan, 2003) and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS- 21; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995a). The results have shown that there is a positive correlation between anxiety and negative perfectionism, intolerance of uncertainty, inhibitory and prospective anxiety, ruminative thought style as well as negative correlation with mindfulness. The correlation remained significant even after controlling for depression. Likewise, constructs have shown the same pattern of correlations with depression, even after controlling for anxiety. Other than that, the results of hierarchical regression analyses showed that intolerance of uncertainty, mindfulness and ruminative thought style significantly predict anxiety i.e. higher levels of intolerance of uncertainty and ruminative thought style and lower levels of mindfulness predict higher levels of anxiety. When it comes to depression, the results have shown that all selected predictors significantly contribute to the variance of depression i.e. higher levels of negative perfectionism, intolerance of uncertainty and ruminative thought style along with lower levels of mindfulness predict higher levels of depression. Additionally, the results have shown that there are lower levels of negative perfectionism, intolerance of uncertainty, ruminative thought style, anxiety and depression in high mindfulness group compared to low mindfulness group. The results are in accordance with expectations and make a significant contribution to understanding of investigated constructs on Croatian sample but considering the complex relationship between constructs, there is need for further research.
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This study of 150 community adults examined heightened emotional reactivity to daily stress as a mediator in the relationships between self-critical (SC) perfectionism and depressive and anxious symptoms over a period of 4 years. Participants completed questionnaires assessing: perfectionism dimensions, general depressive symptoms (i.e., shared with anxiety), specific depressive symptoms (i.e., anhedonia), general anxious symptoms (i.e., shared with depression), and specific anxious symptoms (i.e., somatic anxious arousal) at Time 1; daily stress and affect (e.g., sadness, negative affect) for 14 consecutive days at Month 6 and Year 3; and depressive and anxious symptoms at Year 4. Path analyses indicated that SC perfectionism predicted daily stress-sadness reactivity (i.e., greater increases in sadness in response to increases in stress) across Month 6 and Year 3, which in turn explained why individuals with higher SC perfectionism had more general depressive symptoms, anhedonic depressive symptoms, and general anxious symptoms, respectively, 4 years later. In contrast, daily reactivity to stress with negative affect did not mediate the prospective relation between SC perfectionism and anhedonic depressive symptoms. Findings also demonstrated that higher mean levels of daily stress did not mediate the relationship between SC perfectionism and depressive and anxious symptoms 4 years later. These findings highlight the importance of targeting enduring heightened stress reactivity in order to reduce SC perfectionists' vulnerability to depressive and anxious symptoms over the long term. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).
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The temporal relation between two types of perfectionism - self-oriented perfectionism (SOP) and socially prescribed perfectionism (SPP) - and depressive symptoms was examined in a sample of 653 children (286 girls, 367 boys) across Grades 6 (depressive symptoms only), 7, and 8. A vulnerability model, in which perfectionism affects depressive symptoms, was compared to a scar model, in which depressive symptoms affects perfectionism, and to a reciprocal-causality model, in which both constructs concurrently affect each other across time. Cross-lagged paths analyses using structural equation modeling supported a scar model where increases in depressive symptoms lead to increases in SPP, but not SOP. The findings applied to both boys and girls. Results suggest that in childhood, depressive symptoms increase the perception that others are expecting excessively high standards of oneself and the need to satisfy this perception.
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The 4-factor model of personality vulnerability identifies 4 personality risk factors for alcohol misuse: hopelessness, anxiety sensitivity, impulsivity, and sensation seeking. These personality traits are associated with distinct mechanisms and motivations for alcohol misuse. Individuals high in hopelessness drink to regulate dysphoric affect, while those high in anxiety sensitivity drink to reduce anxiety and to conform to peer expectations. Individuals high in sensation seeking are highly sensitive to the rewarding properties of alcohol, and misuse alcohol to maximize enjoyment. Impulsivity is a broad risk factor contributing to all drinking motives. We hypothesized that personality vulnerabilities would indirectly predict alcohol quantity and problems through specific drinking motives theorized by the 4-factor model. The present study tested hypotheses using a 3-wave, 1-year longitudinal study of undergraduate drinkers (N 302). Data were analyzed using multilevel path analysis. Hopelessness and impulsivity were positively related to drinking motives in the expected fashion. Anxiety sensitivity was related to coping-anxiety and conformity motives only in the between-subjects model (partially supporting hypotheses), while sensation seeking was generally unrelated to all drinking motives and alcohol outcomes (failing to support hypotheses). Enhancement motives predicted alcohol quantity and problems at both levels, coping-depression motives predicted alcohol problems at the between-subjects level only, and coping-anxiety, conformity, and social motives failed to predict alcohol outcomes beyond other motives. Overall, this study partially supports the 4-factor model, with the strongest support emerging for impulsivity and hopelessness. This study suggests that personality traits such as impulsivity and hopelessness may be important targets in prevention and treatment with undergraduate drinkers.
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This study of university students (64 men and 99 women) examined both dispositional and situational influences of self-critical (SC) perfectionism on stress and coping, which explain its association with high negative affect and low positive affect. Participants completed questionnaires at the end of the day for 7 consecutive days. Structural equation modeling indicated that the relation between SC perfectionism and daily affect could be explained by several maladaptive tendencies associated with SC perfectionism (e.g., hassles, avoidant coping, low perceived social support). Multilevel modeling indicated that SC perfectionists were emotionally reactive to stressors that imply possible failure, loss of control, and criticism from others. As well, certain coping strategies (e.g., problem-focused coping) were ineffective for high-SC perfectionists relative to low-SC perfectionists.
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Investigated depression as a normal affect state that could have continuity with types of clinical depression. A 66-item Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ) was constructed to assess a wide range of experiences that, though not direct symptoms of depression, are frequently associated with it. The DEQ, the Wessman-Ricks Mood Scale, a version of the semantic differential, and the Death-Concern Questionnaire were administered to 500 female and 160 male college students. In another sample, 128 college students were given the DEQ and the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale. Three highly stable factors emerged from the DEQ: Dependency, Self-Criticism, and Efficacy. These factors had significant differential correlations with other measures, which support the interpretation of the factors derived from the items. These data indicate the need to consider dependency and self-criticism as 2 primary dimensions of depression and the value of investigating the continuity between normal mood states and the clinical phenomena of depressions. (38 ref)
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The hypothesis that perfectionism, body dissatisfaction, and self-esteem interact to predict bulimic symptom development was tested. This study replicates and extends previous findings (K. D. Vohs et al, 1999) demonstrating that the joint operation of perfectionism, perceived overweight status, and low self-esteem accounts, at least in part, for bulimic symptom development. 70 female college students completed the Beck Depression Inventory, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, and the Eating Disorders Inventory. Within the context of a longitudinal design, the current study, which used different measurement approaches and operationalizations than Vohs and colleagues, provided strong support for the model's ability to predict bulimic symptom development. Moreover, we tested whether the model displayed symptom specificity to bulimic symptoms, as opposed to anxiety and depressive symptoms. Although we found support for the model's specificity with regard to anxiety symptoms, development of depressive symptoms was also predicted by the model. Our findings refine the role of social psychological variables, such as perfectionism and self-esteem, in predicting bulimic symptoms and concomitant conditions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA )
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Discrepancies (i.e., a subjective sense of falling short of one's own standards) are a key part of the perfectionism construct. Theory suggests discrepancies confer vulnerability to depressive symptoms. Since most research in this area is cross-sectional, longitudinal research is needed to disentangle directionality of relationships and to permit stronger causal inferences. Determining whether discrepancies are an antecedent of depressive symptoms, a consequence of depressive symptoms, or both is critical to understanding the discrepancies-depressive symptoms relationship. Knowledge about the temporal stability of discrepancies is also only starting to emerge, and it is unclear whether discrepancies predict incremental variance in depressive symptoms above and beyond neuroticism (i.e., a dispositional tendency to experience negative emotional states). The present study tested relationships among discrepancies, neuroticism, and depressive symptoms in 127 1st-year undergraduates using a 3-wave longitudinal design. Results suggest discrepancies may be understood as a trait-state where people are both highly consistent in their rank order on discrepancies and fluctuate somewhat in the level of discrepancies they experience at a particular point in time. As hypothesized, discrepancies predicted increases in depressive symptoms, even after controlling for neuroticism. Contrary to hypotheses, depressive symptoms did not predict changes in discrepancies. This study extends a long tradition of theory noting the depressing consequences of believing that one has fallen short of one's own standards. Harsh self-criticism and unobtainable self-expectations involving a strong sense of imperfection may be part of the premorbid personality of people vulnerable to depressive symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).
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The authors conducted a study of 5,472 university students to identify the prevalence and predictors of religious and spiritual concerns. Approximately 25% of the sample reported considerable distress related to such concerns. Logistic regression analyses revealed that students with considerable distress related to religious or spiritual concerns also tended to be distressed about the loss of a relationship, sexual assault, confusion about values, homesickness, and suicidal ideation. These students were especially likely to seek psychological help when they also had problematic relationships with peers. Among all students who sought help, considerable distress about religious or spiritual concerns was predicted by confusion about values, problematic relationships with peers, sexual concerns, and thoughts of being punished for one's sins. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Is self-critical perfectionism an antecedent of depressive symptoms, a consequence of depressive symptoms, or both? In the present study, self-critical perfectionism (i.e., harsh criticism of one's actions, negative reactions to perceived failures, and extreme concerns over others' evaluations) and depressive symptoms were conceptualised as a unified, interlocking syndrome wherein self-critical perfectionism and depressive symptoms reciprocally influence each other over time. This reciprocal relations model was tested in 240 undergraduates studied using a four-wave, 4-week longitudinal design. As hypothesised, reciprocal relations were observed between self-critical perfectionism and depressive symptoms, with self-critical perfectionism predicting changes in depressive symptoms and vice versa. Results suggest persons high in self-critical perfectionism may find themselves entangled in an escalating pattern where self-critical perfectionism both leads to, and results from, depressive symptoms. Research focused exclusively on unidirectional relations between self-critical perfectionism and depressive symptoms may ignore information critical to accurately understanding self-critical perfectionism, depressive symptoms, and their interrelation. Instead of assuming unidirectional relations between self-critical perfectionism and depressive symptoms, researchers are encouraged to test for reciprocal relations between these two variables.
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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.
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This article attempted to demonstrate that the perfectionism construct is multidimensional, comprising both personal and social components, and that these components contribute to severe levels of psychopathology. We describe three dimensions of perfectionism: self-oriented perfectionism, other-oriented perfectionism, and socially prescribed perfectionism. Four studies confirm the multidimensionality of the construct and show that these dimensions can be assessed in a reliable and valid manner. Finally, a study with 77 psychiatric patients shows that self-oriented, other-oriented, and socially prescribed perfectionism relate differentially to indices of personality disorders and other psychological maladjustment. A multidimensional approach to the study of perfectionism is warranted, particularly in terms of the association between perfectionism and maladjustment.
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L.A. Clark and D. Watson (1991) proposed a tripartite model that groups symptoms of depression and anxiety into 3 subtypes: symptoms of general distress that are largely nonspecific, manifestations of somatic tension and arousal that are relatively unique to anxiety, and symptoms of anhedonia and low Positive Affect that are specific to depression. This model was tested in 5 samples (3 student, 1 adult, and 1 patient sample) using the Mood and Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire (MASQ; D. Watson & L. A. Clark, 1991), which was designed to assess the hypothesized symptom groups, together with other symptom and cognition measures. Consistent with the tripartite model, the MASQ Anxious Arousal and Anhedonic Depression scales both differentiated anxiety and depression well and also showed excellent convergent validity. Thus, differentiation of these constructs can be improved by focusing on symptoms that are relatively unique to each.
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The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ) was constructed to assess two distinct characterological configurations associated with depression - the anaclitic (dependent) and introjective (self-critical). Although the DEQ is widely used as a measure of these two personality constructs, its validity in actually measuring them is questionable. In this study we subjected a correlation matrix comprised of DEQ responses from a large sample of normal adults (N = 404) to confirmatory factor analysis to assess formally whether the DEQ is congruent with the theoretical parameters outlined by the model. Results indicated that neither the two-factor (Dependency, Self-Criticism) nor the three-factor (Dependency, Self-Criticism, Efficacy) models represented good approximations of the data. Using a series of exploratory factor analyses, we identified 19 items (9 dependency, 10 self-critical) from the original DEQ that were an excellent fit to the data for the two-factor model from "normal" adult, depressed outpatient, and student samples. Parameter estimates of the relationship between the two factors indicated only a modest association. Test-retest reliabilities for both the Dependency and Self-Criticism scales indicated excellent temporal stability. There were diagnostically meaningful variations in the mean scores between the "normal" sample and patient sample.
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This study of university students (64 men and 99 women) examined both dispositional and situational influences of self-critical (SC) perfectionism on stress and coping, which explain its association with high negative affect and low positive affect. Participants completed questionnaires at the end of the day for 7 consecutive days. Structural equation modeling indicated that the relation between SC perfectionism and daily affect could be explained by several maladaptive tendencies associated with SC perfectionism (e.g., hassles, avoidant coping, low perceived social support). Multilevel modeling indicated that SC perfectionists were emotionally reactive to stressors that imply possible failure, loss of control, and criticism from others. As well, certain coping strategies (e.g., problem-focused coping) were ineffective for high-SC perfectionists relative to low-SC perfectionists.
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The authors examined the longitudinal relationship of patient-rated perfectionism, clinician-rated depression, and observer-rated therapeutic alliance using the latent difference score (LDS) analytic framework. Outpatients involved in the Treatment for Depression Collaborative Research Program completed measures of perfectionism and depression at 5 occasions throughout treatment, with therapeutic alliance measured early in therapy. First, LDS analyses of perfectionism and depression established longitudinal change models. Further LDS analyses revealed significant longitudinal interrelationships, in which perfectionism predicted the subsequent rate of depression change, consistent with a personality vulnerability model of depression. In the final LDS model, the strength of the therapeutic alliance significantly predicted longitudinal perfectionism change, and perfectionism significantly predicted the rate of depression change throughout therapy. These results clarify the patterns of growth and change for these indicators throughout depression treatment, demonstrating an alternative method for evaluating longitudinal dynamics in therapy.
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The present study examined the relationship between perfectionism and various features of anxiety to determine whether these features of anxiety were related to perfectionism independent of depression. A factor analysis of various measures of anxiety symptoms reduced the measures to three factors: obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety/trait anxiety/worry, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. All three factors were significantly related to maladaptive perfectionism, but the social/trait/worry factor was the only factor found to be related to maladaptive perfectionism independent of depression. The PTSD factor was the only factor related to the adaptive component of perfectionism, and this relationship remained significant even after controlling for depression. Perfectionism was related to depression after controlling for the three anxiety factors; maladaptive perfectionism was positively related to depression and adaptive perfectionism was negatively related to depression. These findings indicate that there appears to be an aspect of perfectionism that is related to anxiety independent of depression and a separate aspect of perfectionism that is related to depression independent of anxiety.
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Measurement invariance is usually tested using Multigroup Confirmatory Factor Analysis, which examines the change in the goodness-of-fit index (GFI) when cross-group constraints are imposed on a measurement model. Although many studies have examined the properties of GFI as indicators of overall model fit for single-group data, there have been none to date that examine how GFIs change when between-group constraints are added to a measurement model. The lack of a consensus about what constitutes significant GFI differences places limits on measurement invariance testing. We examine 20 GFIs based on the minimum fit function. A simulation under the two-group situation was used to examine changes in the GFIs (ΔGFIs) when invariance constraints were added. Based on the results, we recommend using Δcomparative fit index, ΔGamma hat, and ΔMcDonald's Noncentrality Index to evaluate measurement invariance. These three ΔGFIs are independent of both model complexity and sample size, and are not correlated with the overall fit measures. We propose critical values of these ΔGFIs that indicate measurement invariance.
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Final-year high school students completed the Multidimensional Perfectionism scale and the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS) 10 weeks (n = 673) and again 10 days (n = 505) before a major set of examinations. Symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress were elevated on both test occasions, with more than 20% of the sample falling into the severe range. Self-oriented perfectionism was not strongly related to emotional symptoms. In contrast, socially prescribed perfectionism was positively related to depression and anxiety. Students whose parents were bom overseas reported higher levels of socially prescribed perfectionism, and higher levels of depression and anxiety. These findings were interpreted within Higgins' (1987) self-discrepancy theory, which links high externally imposed standards to emotional distress. The results suggest that adolescents who perceive strong external pressure to excel academically are at risk of severe emotional symptoms under examination stress.
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Understanding comorbidity is an important challenge for psychopathology researchers and diagnostic systems given the repeated finding of very high comorbidity rates among Axis I disorders in psychiatric samples. This paper proposes that perfectionism may be a critical factor for understanding levels of comorbidity, and a conceptual argument for the importance of perfectionism as an explanatory construct for comorbidity is advanced. The link between perfectionism and comorbidity in a large sample of patients (N = 345) who attended an anxiety disorders clinic is examined using a variety of methods. Diagnoses were established using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-IV), and perfectionism was assessed using both the Hewitt and Flett and Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scales. Overall, scores on both the Hewitt and Flett and Frost perfectionism scales were correlated with the number of diagnoses, and a logistic regression analysis, controlling for current symptoms, showed that maladaptive evaluative concerns perfectionism in particular predicted higher levels of comorbidity.
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Perfectionism is a major diagnostic criterion for one DSM-III diagnosis, and it has been hypothesized to play a major role in a wide variety of psychopathologies. Yet there is no precise definition of, and there is a paucity of research on, this construct. Based on what has been theorized about perfectionism, a multidimensional measure was developed and several hypotheses regarding the nature of perfectionism were tested in four separate studies. The major dimension of this measure was excessive concern over making mistakes. Five other dimensions were identified, including high personal standards, the perception of high parental expectations, the perception of high parental criticism, the doubting of the quality of one's actions, and a preference for order and organization. Perfectionism and certain of its subscales were correlated with a wide variety of psychopathological symptoms. There was also an association between perfectionism and procrastination. Several subscales of the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS), personal standards and organization, were associated with positive achievement striving and work habits. The MPS was highly correlated with one of the existing measures of perfectionism. Two other existing measures were only moderately correlated with the MPS and with each other. Future studies of perfectionism should take into account the multidimensional nature of the construct.
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Investigated depression as a normal affect state that could have continuity with types of clinical depression. A 66-item Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ) was constructed to assess a wide range of experiences that, though not direct symptoms of depression, are frequently associated with it. The DEQ, the Wessman-Ricks Mood Scale, a version of the semantic differential, and the Death-Concern Questionnaire were administered to 500 female and 160 male college students. In another sample, 128 college students were given the DEQ and the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale. Three highly stable factors emerged from the DEQ: Dependency, Self-Criticism, and Efficacy. These factors had significant differential correlations with other measures, which support the interpretation of the factors derived from the items. These data indicate the need to consider dependency and self-criticism as 2 primary dimensions of depression and the value of investigating the continuity between normal mood states and the clinical phenomena of depressions. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Testing a tripartite model
  • D Watson
  • K Weber
  • J S Assenheimer
  • L Clark
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  • R A Mccormick
Watson, D., Weber, K., Assenheimer, J. S., Clark, L., Strauss, M., & McCormick, R. A. (1995). Testing a tripartite model. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 104, 3-14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021.
Perfectionism, anxiety, and depression
  • K Y Kawamura
  • S L Hunt
  • R O Frost
  • P M Dibartolo
Kawamura, K. Y., Hunt, S. L., Frost, R. O., & DiBartolo, P. M. (2001). Perfectionism, anxiety, and depression. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 25, 291–301. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:10107365.
Perfectionism, body dissatisfaction, and self-esteem
  • K D Vohs
  • Z R Voelz
  • J W Pettit
  • A M Bardone
  • J Katz
  • L Y Abramson
Vohs, K. D., Voelz, Z. R., Pettit, J. W., Bardone, A. M., Katz, J., Abramson, L. Y., et al. (2001). Perfectionism, body dissatisfaction, and self-esteem. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 20, 476–497. http://dx.doi.org/10.1521/jscp.20.4.476. 22397.
The existential model of perfectionism and depressive symptoms
  • A R Graham
  • S B Sherry
  • S H Stewart
  • D L Sherry
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  • K Fossum
Graham, A. R., Sherry, S. B., Stewart, S. H., Sherry, D. L., McGrath, D., Fossum, K., et al. (2010). The existential model of perfectionism and depressive symptoms. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 57, 423-438. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ a0020667.
Testing the 4-factor model of personality vulnerability to alcohol misuse
  • S Mackinnon
  • I Kehayes
  • R Clark
  • S Sherry
  • S Stewart
Mackinnon, S., Kehayes, I., Clark, R., Sherry, S., & Stewart, S. (in press). Testing the 4-factor model of personality vulnerability to alcohol misuse. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.