Dimensions of Perfectionism, Life Stress, and Depressed and Anxious Symptoms: Prospective Support for Diathesis-Stress but not Specific Vulnerability among Male Undergraduates

Abstract

We investigated important issues relevant to a specific vulnerability, diathesis-stress approach to the relations between perfectionism, life stress, and depressed and anxious symptoms. To address limitations of past work, we used a prospective methodology, and addressed the moderating role of gender and symptom specificity. One hundred seventy-four undergraduates completed questionnaires on self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism, achievement-related and interpersonal life stress, and depressed and anxious symptoms, at two points in time separated by three weeks. Among males but not females, a diathesis-stress, but not specific vulnerability perspective was supported. Specifically, males high in socially prescribed perfectionism experienced increases in depressed symptoms under high but not low life stress, whether the stress was interpersonal or achievement-related in nature. Males high in self-oriented perfectionism were prone to depression increases under high but not low levels of interpersonal, but not achievement-related stress. A general negative events composite interacted with both socially prescribed and self-oriented perfectionism to predict depression increases. There was modest support for our hypothesis that interactions involving socially prescribed perfectionism would predict increases in both depressed and anxious symptoms, whereas those involving self-oriented perfectionism would predict increases in depressed symptoms only.