Self-Critical Perfectionism, Acculturative Stress, and Depression Among International Students

Abstract

The authors tested a classic diathesis-stress, stress-enhancement model of perfectionism with subgroups of Chinese ( N = 129) and Asian Indian ( N = 166) international graduate students attending a major U.S. university. More specifically, the authors tested whether self-critical perfectionism, acculturative stress, and their interaction accounted for different directions of effects and variability in depression. The authors found that self-critical perfectionism was positively associated with depression for both groups, but the effects were stronger for the Asian Indian students. In fact, only for Asian Indians was the Self-Critical Perfectionism × Acculturative Stress interaction significant, indicating worse depression for those students who were the most self-critical and most stressed. Potential differences in the importance of these predictors for subgroups of international students are discussed. Implications for intervention, prevention, and the need for further testing of these models in longitudinal studies are also addressed.