Flett Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale Research Articles

Examination of Measures of Perfectionism for Structural and Measurement Invariance in an Italian and a Canadian Sample

Perfectionism measures developed in English-speaking populations have become frequently used in many non-English contexts, including in Italy. Establishing structural and measurement equivalence of instruments between Canadian and Italian samples is therefore important in establishing the validity of these concepts and instruments in Italian contexts, and to allow for direct cross-cultural comparisons. The current study investigated the measurement equivalence between a Canadian and an Italian sample for the commonly used measures of perfectionism constructs based on the Comprehensive Model of Perfectionistic Behavior. The Hewitt & Flett Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, the Perfectionistic Self-Presentation Scale, and the Perfectionism Cognitions Inventory were examined for configural, metric, and scalar invariance via equivalence testing of multigroup confirmatory factor analysis models. The results showed some evidence for configural and metric equivalence for the three measures, thus facilitating cross-cultural interpretation of pattern of associations. However, there was no consistent evidence for scalar invariance, thus suggesting that direct comparisons of perfectionism levels between the two contexts cannot be meaningfully interpreted. This highlights the need for research in both Canadian and Italian contexts to understand cross-cultural differences and similarities in perfectionism.

Failure Sensitivity in Perfectionism and Procrastination: Fear of Failure and Overgeneralization of Failure as Mediators of Traits and Cognitions

The current study investigated perfectionism and procrastination from the trait and cognitive perspectives and addressed how they relate to components of a personal orientation toward failure. A sample of 327 undergraduate students completed three perfectionism measures (i.e., Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, Hewitt–Flett Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, and Perfectionism Cognitions Inventory), two procrastination measures (i.e., Lay Procrastination Scale and Procrastinatory Cognitions Inventory), and measures of fear of failure and overgeneralizing failure. Correlational analyses showed that the composite trait dimension of perfectionistic concerns and the cognitive dimension of perfectionistic automatic thoughts had modest links with trait procrastination but much stronger links with the cognitive measure of procrastinatory automatic thoughts. All perfectionism and procrastination measures were significantly correlated with fear of failure and overgeneralization of failure. More extensive analyses showed that fear of failure mediated trait and cognitive pathways between perfectionism and procrastination, and the overgeneralization of failure mediated most pathways. Other evidence supported a sequential mediation between perfectionism and procrastination (i.e., fear of failure followed by the overgeneralization of failure). Overall, the results suggest that procrastinating perfectionists have a cognitive hypersensitivity to failure and a potentially debilitating form of perfectionistic reactivity characterized by overgeneralizing failures to the self. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Exploring the Relationship between Perfectionism and Pain in Patients with Temporomandibular Disorders: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine the relationship between perfectionism and pain in patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMDs). A total of 345 TMD patients were included. A questionnaire consisting of questions of demographic information, the 15-item short form of the Hewitt and Flett Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, and the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) was distributed. According to the diagnostic criteria for TMDs, patients were categorized as pain-related (PT) and non-pain-related (NPT) groups, whereas PT patients were further divided into patients with pain-related TMDs only (OPT) and patients with combined pain-related and intra-articular TMDs (CPT). Data were analyzed using the chi-square test, Spearman's correlation, and logistic regression analysis with the significance level set at p < 0.05. There were 68 patients in the NPT group, 80 in the OPT group, and 197 in the CPT group. PT patients had significantly higher perfectionism scores (63.58 ± 13.63) than NPT patients (56.32 ± 12.95, p < 0.001). The PHQ-4 score in the PT group was also higher. After adjusting the PHQ-4 scores, perfectionism scores of the PT group were 6.11 points higher than those in the NPT group (p < 0.001). There were no statistical differences in all parameters of OPT and CPT groups (p > 0.05). Perfectionism in total, other-oriented perfectionism (OOP), and socially prescribed perfectionism (SPP) showed significant but weak correlations with PHQ-4 scores (p < 0.001), while self-oriented perfectionism (SOP) was also significantly but very weakly correlated with PHQ-4 scores (p < 0.05). Pain-related TMD patients exhibited higher perfectionism scores than NPT patients, and neither their perfectionism nor pain scores were correlated with intra-articular diseases of TMJ. OOP and SOP presented weak correlations with psychological distress in TMD patients. It is suggested that pain-related TMD patients could be screened for perfectionism and perfectionism could be considered when proposing psychological treatment strategies to PT patients.

Examining the relationship of eating disorder symptoms and perfectionism in men and women using two assessments of eating pathology

Eating disorder (ED) pathology in men is not as well understood or studied as ED pathology in women. One potential reason for this is that most of the traditional assessments used for EDs were developed for and validated with exclusively female samples, meaning that symptoms in men are not as well represented or measured. There are consistent associations between perfectionism and ED symptoms in women, but less is known regarding how these relationships function in men. This study examined whether the relationship of perfectionism to ED symptoms varies by gender using the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q) and the Eating Pathology Symptom Inventory (EPSI). The EPSI has multiple dimensions that may better capture the presentation of ED symptoms in men. Participants were recruited from a large public university and through Amazon MechanicalTurk. Participants completed a survey battery that included the two eating measures and the self-oriented perfectionism scale from the Hewitt and Flett Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale. Data were analyzed using independent samples t-tests and structural equation modeling. There were significant positive associations between self-oriented perfectionism and all dimensions measured by the EDE-Q and the EPSI. The models were invariant across gender. Implications for further research were discussed.

Propriedades Psicométricas da Escala Multidimensional de Perfeccionismo de Hewitt e Flett para Adultos Brasileiros

Abstract The aim of the present study was to investigate validity evidence based on internal structure and the relationship with other variables of the Brazilian version of the Hewitt and Flett Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (H&amp;F-MPS). To this end, a sample comprising 368 participants with a mean age of 31.17 years (SD=11,34), 74% female, answered the H&amp;F-MPS perfectionism scale and instruments that measure personality and psychological inflexibility. Findings indicated a factor structure of three dimensions, like the original scale, good discriminative item parameters, highly satisfactory reliability indexes, and significant correlations of the hypothesized directions with Openness to Experiences, Neuroticism, and Conscientiousness factors from the personality measure, as well as with the psychological flexibility measure.

Perfectionism and Eating Behavior in the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) represents a massive global health crisis leading to different reactions in people. Those reactions may be adaptive or not depending on situational or psychological processes. Disordered eating attitudes and behaviors are likely to be exacerbated by the pandemic through multiple pathways as suggested by Rodgers et al. (2020). Among the psychological variables that may have increased dysfunctional eating attitudes and behaviors as a consequence of the social distancing and isolation, we looked at perfectionism. Perfectionism is a well-recognized risk and maintaining factor of eating-related symptoms and interact with stress increasing the probability of dysfunctional reactions (e.g., Wang and Li, 2017). The present study investigated the relationship between multidimensional perfectionism and eating behaviors by considering the mediating role of psychological distress. Data were collected from two countries (Italy and Spain) by means of an online survey. The samples included 465 (63.4% female) participants from Italy and 352 (68.5% female) from Spain. Participants completed the short form of the Hewitt and Flett Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (Lombardo et al., 2021) to assess self-oriented, other-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism, as well as the short form of Three Factors Eating Questionnaire (Karlsson et al., 2000) and the Italian version of Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (Bottesi et al., 2015), respectively used to assess restrictive, emotional and uncontrolled eating on one hand, and depression, anxiety and stress on the other. Multigroup analysis was performed to test the hypothesized model. Results showed that other-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism were indirectly related to most of the dysfunctional eating aspects through the mediation of psychological distress, and the pattern obtained was consistent in both countries. These findings evidence that the psychological distress potentially related to the COVID-19 disease mediates the negative impact of interpersonal perfectionism and the tendency to eat in response to negative emotions.

Validation of the Five‐item Learning Climate Questionnaire as a measure of teacher autonomy support in the classroom

AbstractThe Learning Climate Questionnaire (LCQ) measures teacher autonomy support in the classroom. There are various versions of the LCQ available, a 15‐item full‐scale version and a 6‐item shortened version. Recent research suggests that using a 5‐item version of LCQ is a more effective measure of teacher autonomy support. Using data from a sample of Filipino undergraduate students, the single‐factor structure of the Five‐item LCQ (LCQ‐5) was validated through confirmatory factor analysis along with three longer versions of the scale. Results showed that LCQ‐5 outperformed the alternative versions of LCQ in terms of model fit. To demonstrate construct validity, LCQ scores were correlated with measures of parent and peer autonomy support, as well as with the short version of the self‐oriented perfectionism subscale of the Hewitt and Flett Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale. LCQ‐5 also displayed gender invariance and good internal consistency. The findings suggest that the LCQ‐5 can be used as a brief but psychometrically valid measure of teacher autonomy support. Implications for the measurement of teacher autonomy support are discussed.

The Short Forms of the Hewitt and Flett’s Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale: Which Factor Structure Better Fits Italian Data?

One of the most used instruments to assess perfectionism is Hewitt and Flett's Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (HFMPS). This article reports result of two studies aimed at evaluating and comparing two short HFMPS versions provided by literature in Italian samples. In Study 1, two previously proposed short forms–Cox and colleagues' and Hewitt and colleagues'–were compared in terms of factor structure and concurrent validity in a community sample of 324 participants. In Study 2, validity and reliability of the two short scales in 102 university students and 58 patients with a primary diagnosis of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder were examined. Results revealed mixed findings concerning which of the two short form should be preferred.

Is perfectionism associated to dental anxiety?

IntroductionPersonality traits like neuroticism and trait-anxiety, as well as the predisposition to a greater sensitivity to pain, are risk factors for dental anxiety. Although perfectionism has been associated with both anxiety and pain, particularly when mediated by repetitive negative thinking/RNT (Macedo et al. 2015; Albuquerque et al. 2013), its role in dental anxiety has not yet been studied.ObjectivesTo analyze the role of perfectionism and RNT in dental anxiety.MethodsA community sample of 552 adults (68.2% women; mean age=35.15±15.79 years) completed the Portuguese versions of:Hewit and Flett Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale–13, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Sensitivity to Pain Traumatization/SPT Scale, Fear of Dental Pain/FDP Questionnaire, Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire and Dental Fear Survey/DFS.Results Trait-anxiety (r=.225), socially prescribed perfectionism/SPP (r=.177), SPT (r=.286), FDP (r=.509) and RNT (r=.274) were significantly (p&lt;.01) correlated with dental anxiety (DFS total score). Serial mediation analysis using the PROCESS-macro 3.5 for SPSS (Hayes, 2020; Model 6) showed that even controlling for trait-anxiety and gender (as SPT, FDP and RNT mean scores were significantly higher in women, p&lt;.01) SPP plays a significant indirect effect through SDT, FDP and RNT on dental anxiety, which are (isolated or sequentially) full mediators of this relationship (Total effect: .553, p&lt;.001).ConclusionsThis study shows for the first time that negative perfectionism is a predictor of dental anxiety; its influence operates through the increase in levels of sensitivity to pain, DPA and RNT. We suggest that when intervening in this health problem it is important to evaluate perfectionism and try to mitigate its negative impact, namely diminishing RNT and the focus on pain and fear.

Factor Structure and Longitudinal Measurement Invariance of the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale-Brief on a Filipino Sample

ABSTRACT The Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale or FMPS is one of the first empirically validated measures of perfectionism. Cultural nuances demand that the efficiency of a short version of this scale, FMPS – Brief, be tested on an Asian sample. Given the wealth of studies that consistently linked perfectionism to academic achievement, research on the utility of this brief instrument especially with students from a collectivist background is needed. Confirmatory factor analysis of data from a sample of Filipino university students (N = 306) revealed that FMPS-Brief is a reliable and valid measure that can be used in an academic context. Aside from exhibiting the two-factor structure of perfectionism, the scale also displayed good internal consistency and convergent validity with another short version of a commonly used perfectionism measure, the Hewitt and Flett Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale. There was also evidence for the measurement invariance of FMPS-Brief across three time points. The brief scale can be used whenever the need for a short but psychometrically sound instrument for perfectionism arises.

Never good enough: The relation between the impostor phenomenon and multidimensional perfectionism

The Impostor Phenomenon can be described as the tendency to attribute professional success not to one’s own abilities but to excessive effort or fortunate external circumstances. Individuals strongly experiencing those tendencies fear that one day they will be exposed as “impostors” as soon as their alleged incompetence can no longer be concealed. Typical characteristics of the Impostor Phenomenon outlined by Clance (1985) show a remarkable conceptual similarity to the personality construct of perfectionism. Thus, the present study aimed at investigating how the Impostor Phenomenon is related to various facets of dispositional perfectionism with respect to predominant conceptualizations of perfectionism by Frost et al. (1990), Hewitt and Flett (1991), as well as their combination within the bifactor model of Perfectionistic Strivings and Perfectionistic Concerns (Frost et al. 1993). A total of N = 274 individuals participated in an online survey including the Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS; Clance 1988), the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS; Frost et al. 1990), and the Hewitt und Flett Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS short form; Hewitt et al. 2008). Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to determine the differential contributions of perfectionism dimensions and factors in predicting the Impostor Phenomenon. The perfectionism dimensions Doubts about Actions, Concern over Mistakes and Socially prescribed Perfectionism appeared to be efficient predictors of the Impostor Phenomenon. Contrary to Perfectionistic Strivings, Perfectionistic Concerns as a maladaptive perfectionism factor strongly contributed to the prediction of the Impostor Phenomenon. Theoretical and practical implications of the associations between the Impostor Phenomenon and multidimensional perfectionism are discussed.

Perfectionism, Self-Compassion and Depressive Symptoms among Nursing Students

Background: Perfectionism plays an important role in nursing students’ adjustment to training in the nursing profession. Self-compassion is among the characteristics that nursing students need to have to be empathetic with themselves and with patients. Perfectionistic students develop a strict thinking that hinders a compassionate attitude towards oneself causing greater depressive symptoms. Aimed to: Assess perfectionism, self-compassion and depressive symptoms among nursing students. Design: Descriptive design was used. Setting: The present study was done at the Technical Institute of Nursing Zagazig University. Subjects and methods: A stratified sample was used in the current study, which composed of 280 nursing students. Tools of data collection: The first tool composed of two parts: socio-demographic data sheet, and Hewitt and Flett's multidimensional perfectionism scale. The second tool was the Neff’s Self-Compassion Scale, and the third tool was beck depression inventory scale (BDI-II). Results: nearly all of the students had a high level of perfectionism, nearly three qurater of nursing students had a moderate level of self-compassion. Furthermore, the study revealed that statistically significant weak to moderate negative correlations were demonstrated between the scores of students` self-compassion from one side and each of socially-prescribed perfectionism and depressive symptom scores. Conclusions: The majority of nursing students had a high level of perfectionism, and moderate level of self-compassion. Additionally, socially-prescribed perfectionism was an independent negative predictor of self-compassion, and self-compassion was an independent negative predictor of depressive symptoms among nursing students. Recommendation: Effective self-compassion interventions could be targeted to students who have perfectionistic thoughts to increase the level of kindness, and thus decrease perfectionistic thoughts. Experimental study is suggested to manage perfectionism with nursing students.

The H&F-Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale 13 (H&F-MSP13): Construct and convergent validity

IntroductionThe Hewitt and Flett Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (H&amp;F-MPS) is one of the most used measures of perfectionism. Their 45-items evaluate self-Oriented (SOP), Self-Prescribed (SPP), and Other Oriented (OOP) perfectionism.ObjectivesTo study the internal consistency and convergent validity of the H&amp;F-MSP13.MethodsOne hundred and ninety-two university students (78.1% females), aged 19.74 years (sd = 2.10; range: 17–28) completed the Portuguese versions of H&amp;F-MPS (Soares et al., 2003) and of Frost et al. MPS (F-MPS) (Amaral et al., 2013). Thirteen items were selected from the Portuguese version of the H&amp;F-MPS, based on their loading in the factor (0.60 and over) (Soares et al., 2003).ResultsThe H&amp;FMPS13 revealed good internal consistency (α = 0.816). The corrected item-total subscale Spearman's correlations were high (from 0.418 to 0.820). The principal component analysis with factors varimax rotation produced three factors, which revealed acceptable/good internal consistency (SOP: explained variance/EV = 35.4%, α = .900; SPP: EV = 16.3%, α = 0.695; OOP: EV = 10.8%, α = 0.709). The correlations between the H&amp;F-MSP13 scores and the matching scores of the H&amp;F-MPS were high (from r = 0.745 to r = 0.945, all P &lt; .01), suggesting that both scales measure similarly the constructs. The H&amp;F-MSP13 and the H&amp;F-MPS total scores demonstrate good convergent validity with the total score of F-MPS, as indicated by the correlations (r = 0.581/r = 0.636, respectively). The correlations similarities between the H&amp;F-MSP13 and H&amp;F-MSP dimensions and the F-MPS dimensions and total scores were also considerable.ConclusionsThe H&amp;F-MSP13 is a valid instrument to measure perfectionism that reveals convergent validity with the F-MPS, retaining the adequate psychometric properties of the H&amp;F-MPS and its administration is less time consuming.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Achievement motivation and attributional style as mediators between perfectionism and subjective well-being in Chinese university students

This study examined both the mediation effects of achievement motivation and attributional style on the relationship between perfectionism and subjective well-being in a sample of Chinese university students. Four hundred ninety-three participants with an age range of 18–24 (206 males and 287 females) completed the Hewitt and Flett Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (HMPS), the Achievement Motivation Scale (AMS), the Multidimensional–Multiattributional Causality Scale (MMCS) and the General Well-Being Schedule (GWB). Correlation analysis indicated that perfectionism was positively correlated with subjective well-being. Structural equation modeling exhibited the partial mediation effects of attributional style and achievement motivation on the relationship between perfectionism and subjective well-being. Moreover, a multi-group analysis indicated that the mediation model was not moderated by gender. These findings contribute to the complex nature of the association between perfectionism and subjective well-being. This study’s implications for future research and limitations of the present findings are discussed.

Pensées répétitives constructives et non constructives chez les perfectionnistes inadaptés

Les perfectionnistes inadaptes (PI) rapportent plus de symptomatologie depressive que les non perfectionnistes. La rumination pourrait etre un mediateur de cette relation. Par ailleurs, des etudes recentes suggerent d’elargir les recherches a d’autres formes de pensees repetitives et d’en distinguer deux formes, l’une constructive et l’autre non constructive, en fonction des processus qui les sous-tendent et de leurs consequences. La presente etude evalue la symptomatologie depressive et les pensees repetitives constructives et non constructives chez 25 perfectionnistes inadaptes et 24 non perfectionnistes. En accord avec nos hypotheses, les perfectionnistes inadaptes rapportent plus de symptomatologie depressive, plus de pensees repetitives non constructives et moins de pensees repetitives constructives. La structure de covariation des donnees est compatible avec l’hypothese selon laquelle les pensees repetitives non constructives sont un mediateur de la relation entre perfectionnisme et symptomatologie depressive. En revanche, les pensees repetitives constructives ne semblent pas etre un mediateur potentiel. Ces resultats soulignent l’importance de developper des interventions psychologiques qui ciblent les pensees repetitives dans la prise en charge du perfectionnisme.

The relationship between socially prescribed perfectionism and depression: The mediating role of maladaptive cognitive schemas

Determining the mediating role of maladaptive cognitive schemas in relation between socially prescribed perfectionism and depression was proposed and tested in a model by path analysis among a nonclinical sample of 200 students. Participants completed the Hewitt and Flett Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, and Young Schema Questionnaire- short form. Results have shown that the initially hypothesized model did not have enough fitness to be confirmed. The findings show that, failure schema, relatively have indirect effect on defectiveness/shame and insufficient self control/selfdiscipline schemas and may play the role of mediator in relationship between socially prescribed perfectionism and depression. According to the findings, therapist should attend to factors that increase client's resistance, especially for perfectionists.

The effects of perfectionism on academic achievement in medical students.

The purpose of this study was to explore the differential effects of multi-dimensional perfectionism on academic achievement, depression, engagement, and burnout in medical students. Also, the mediating effects of engagement on perfectionism and academic achievement, as well as the effects of burnout on perfectionism and depression, were examined. Two hundred eight medical students participated, and 167 students completed questionnaires, including the Frost Multi-dimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS), Hewitt & Flett Multi-dimensional Perfectionism Scale (HFMPS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Schaufeli Engagement Scale (SES), and Malslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS). Academic achievement was measured as the grade point average (GPA) of the previous semester. Data were analyzed by correlation analyses, independent t-tests, and Structural Equation Model (SEM) for path analysis. Adaptive perfectionism (personal standard, self-oriented perfectionism) was associated with GPA (r=0.164, p<0.05; r=0.173, p<0.05) and engagement (r=0.394, p<0.01; r=0.449, p<0.01), and maladaptive perfectionism (parental criticism, concern over mistakes, socially prescribed perfectionism) was associated with depression (r=0.208, p<0.01; r=0.254, p<0.01; r=0.234, p<0.01) and burnout (r=0.218, p<0.01; r=0.236, p<0.01; r=0.280, p<0.01). Engagement had mediating effects on adaptive perfectionism and GPA, and burnout had mediating effects on maladaptive perfectionism and depression. Students who experienced academic failure had lower engagement than those who did not. This study demonstrates that academic achievement and emotional difficulties such as depression are determined by adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism, respectively, in medical students.