Perfectionistic Attitudes Research Articles

A study of the relationship between internet addiction, psychopathology and dysfunctional beliefs

Background and aimsPsychopathological symptoms, particularly depression and anxiety, increase with the severity of Internet Addiction (IA). In this study, we aimed to assess the relationship of severity of IA and Dysfunctional Attitudes (DA) with psychopathological characteristics. MethodsTwo hundred and twelve university students were included in the study. The subjects were assessed using the Internet Addiction Scale (IAS), the Symptom Checklist (SCL-90) and the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS). ResultsThe subjects were divided into three groups according to the IAS, which was conducted to screen for IA: no addiction, mild and moderate/high addiction. 108 (50.9%) of the subjects were found to have no addiction, 70 (33.01%) to have a mild addiction and 34 (16.03%) to have a moderate/high addiction. Psychopathological symptoms and dysfunctional attitudes increase with the severity of IA. In addition to the psychopathologic features, dysfunctional attitudes have limited effects on explaining the IA. ConclusionsIn the cognitive-behavioral treatment of IA, focusing on a perfectionist attitude and a need for approval, which are part of a dysfunctional attitude, may be beneficial.

Are Perfectionism Dimensions Vulnerability Factors for Depressive Symptoms after Controlling for Neuroticism? A Meta–analysis of 10 Longitudinal Studies

Extensive evidence suggests neuroticism is a higher–order personality trait that overlaps substantially with perfectionism dimensions and depressive symptoms. Such evidence raises an important question: Which perfectionism dimensions are vulnerability factors for depressive symptoms after controlling for neuroticism? To address this, a meta–analysis of research testing whether socially prescribed perfectionism, concern over mistakes, doubts about actions, personal standards, perfectionistic attitudes, self–criticism and self–oriented perfectionism predict change in depressive symptoms, after controlling for baseline depression and neuroticism, was conducted. A literature search yielded 10 relevant studies (N = 1,758). Meta–analysis using random–effects models revealed that all seven perfectionism dimensions had small positive relationships with follow–up depressive symptoms beyond baseline depression and neuroticism. Perfectionism dimensions appear neither redundant with nor captured by neuroticism. Results lend credence and coherence to theoretical accounts and empirical studies suggesting perfectionism dimensions are part of the premorbid personality of people vulnerable to depressive symptoms. Copyright © 2016 European Association of Personality Psychology

Adaptation of the “Perfectionism questionnaire” to diagnose perfectionist attitudes among first-year technical university students

Adaptation of the “Perfectionism questionnaire” to diagnose perfectionist attitudes among first-year technical university students

Perfectionism and stuttering: Findings of an online survey

PurposeUsing a multi-dimensional measure of perfectionism: the Frost Multi-dimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS: Frost, Marten, Lahart, & Rosenblate, 1990), this study investigates: (a) whether adults who stutter (AWS) display more perfectionistic attitudes and beliefs than those who do not stutter, and (b) whether, in AWS, more perfectionistic attitudes and beliefs are associated with greater self-reported difficulty communicating verbally and speaking fluently. MethodIn the first analysis, FMPS responses from 81 AWS and 81 matched, normally-fluent controls were analyzed using logistic regression to investigate the relative contributions of four FMPS perfectionism-subscale self-ratings to the likelihood of being in the AWS group. In the subsequent analyses, data from the 81 AWS were analyzed using linear multiple regression to determine which FMPS subscale self-ratings best predicted their Communication-Difficulty and Fluency-Difficulty scores. ResultsBoth the likelihood of being a member of the AWS group, and also the magnitude of the AWS group's Communication-Difficulty and Fluency-Difficulty scores, were positively part-correlated to respondents’ Concern over Mistakes-Doubts about Actions (CMD) subscale self-ratings but negatively part-correlated to their Personal Standards (PS) subscale self-ratings. ConclusionsThe FMPS profiles of respondents who stutter suggest that, as a group, they are not abnormally perfectionistic overall, but may be (or perceive themselves to be) abnormally error-prone. Also, AWS who are more concerned about their errors and uncertain of their actions experience more difficulty communicating verbally and speaking fluently.Educational Objectives: After reading this article, participants will be able to: (a) describe the findings of previous research investigating the role of perfectionism in stuttering and psychopathologies; (b) discuss why a multidimensional assessment of perfectionism is important in relation to stuttering; (c) discuss ways in which data from perfectionism assessments can contribute to the planning of therapy for adults who stutter.

Seviye Belirleme Sınavında Başarının Yordayıcılarının İncelenmesi: Dershaneye Gitme, Mükemmeliyetçilik, Ana-Baba Tutumu ve Sınav Kaygısı

The purpose of the current study is to determine to what extent the following four variables explain K-8 students’ SBS success levels; these variables being attendance to private SBS preperation courses, multidimensional perfectionism, parental attitude types, and test anxiety. SBS is a nationwide, high stake, high school placement test taken by middle school students in the Turkish education system since the 2007-2008 school year. The sample of this study consists of 460 cluster sampled 8th grade students, of which 257 are girls and 203 are boys all from the city center of the province of Tokat, Turkey. The Multi-dimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS), Parental Attitude Type Scale, Westside Test Anxiety Scale, and a personal information sheet were used to collect data which was then analyzed using hierarchical linear regression, independent group t tests and chi square tests. According to the findings, the most effective variable in determining a student’s level of success is attendance to private preperation courses. Other significant predictors of success on the SBS are the espousal of a perfectionist attitude by parents and a student’s level of test anxiety. Moreover, the most effective factor influencing SBS scores of students who do not attend preperation courses is his parents’ adoption of an authoritarian attitude. While the “Order” dimension of the MPS and “test anxiety” were negative predictors of students’ success on the SBS, “responsibility-centered parents’ attitude” was positively related to the students’ scores. “Doubt from behaviors” was the most effective negative predictor explaining the SBS scores of students who did not attend private SBS preperation courses. The findings of the study suggest that as one’s income level increases, so does the duration of time spent attending SBS prep courses, and this increased level of success can also be attributed to effective parent involvement in students’ lives. However, family’s income stands as a definite medium, explaining students’ SBS success. As a result of the current study, SBS preperation courses has been found to be the most defining factor in students’ SBS scores. According to the findings, student’s success on large scale tests are mainly affected by extracurricular activities, such as courses or private lessons.

EPA-1038 – From the first episode to recurrences: the role of automatic thoughts and dysfunctional attitudes in major depressive disorder

Introduction - Objecives According to the cognitive theory, negative automatic thoughts (NAT) and dysfunctional attitudes (DA) are important causal factors for the onset and maintanence of depression. There is limited data on the effects of NATs and DAs on the recurrence of depressive episodes. This study aims to compare the NATs and DAs of first versus recurrent episode depressive patients. The hypothesis of the study is that the intensity of negative cognitions will parallel the number of recurrences. Methods For the study, 100 first episode and 100 recurrent episode major depressive disorder diagnosed outpatients and 100 healthy volunteers presenting to the psychiatry clinics of three hospitals in Turkey were recruited. The participants were diagnosed by MINI, asked to complete the BDI, ATQ and DAS. Statistical analyses were undertaken to predict the variables affecting recurrence. Results The groups were not statistically different on sociodemographic variables. The mean NAT and DA scores were highest in the recurrent depression group. Regression analyses for the prediction of recurrence revealed that perfectionistic attitude, severity of depression and number of hospitalizations were the most correlated variables. The number of recurrences was correlated with the perfectionistic attitude scores. Conclusion These results show that the NATs and DAs of first episode depression patients differ from those of the recurrent episode depression patients, and the number of recurrences are predicted by perfectionistic attitudes. This has clinical implications in the treatment of depression, particularly points out to the need to manage perfectionistic attitudes to prevent recurrences.

The relationship between dysfunctional attitudes, rumination response styles and depression

The relationship between dysfunctional attitudes, rumination response styles and depression Objective: In our study we aimed to investigate the relationship between rumination response styles, dysfunctional attitudes and depression. Methods: 60 patients diagnosed with depression according to the DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria in the Bakirkoy Training and Research Hospital for Psychiatry, Neurology and Neurosurgery outpatient clinics are involved in our study. All participants were administered a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS) and Ruminative Responses Scale (RRS-short version). Results: In our study, there was mild-moderate negative correlation between depression and the perfectionist attitudes, need for approval, independent attitudes subscores. The RRS-short version brooding subscore was highly positively correlated with depression. Depression and RRS-short version reflecting score was moderately and positively correlated. As predictors of depression, high subscores of RRS-short version brooding and RRS-short version reflected increased risk for depression, whereas high subscores of DAS perfectionist attitudes are evaluated to be protective for depression. Conclusions: In our study, in contrast to the literature, it was shown that dysfunctional attitudes are not positively correlated with depression nor are they predictors of depression. However, it may not be appropriate to make such comment based on a single study. Factors that can lead to this conclusion are discussed in the study. On the other hand, our study emphasizes the key role of rumination in depression. In practice of cognitive behavioral therapy of which efficacy in treatment of patients with depression has been know, assessment of ruminative responses, treatment techniques for reducing ruminative responses should be targeted.

Vulnerable discipline: Experiences of male competitive bodybuilders

The aim was to understand experiences of male competitive bodybuilders from a non-pathologizing perspective. Six male Norwegian competitive bodybuilders were interviewed. The interviews were analysed using a meaning condensation procedure resulting in five themes: being proud of capacity for discipline, seeing a perfectionist attitude as a necessary evil, experiencing recognition within the bodybuilding community, being stigmatized outside the bodybuilding community and going on stage to display a capacity for willpower and discipline. We suggest that bodybuilders may be stigmatized for breaking social norms: by their distinctive appearance, by the way they handle suspected drug use and by challenging gender norms.

The predictive value of interpersonal schemas, perfectionism, and thought action-fusion in obsessive-compulsive disorder / Obsesif-kompulsif bozuklukta kişilerarası şemalar, mükemmeliyetçilik ve düşünce-eylem kaynaşmasının yordayıcı rolü

The predictive value of interpersonal schemas, perfectionism, and thought action-fusion in obsessive-compulsive disorder Objective: Cognitive vulnerability factors are central in the etiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Nosological classifications among symptom clusters have been developed to enable the understanding of possible mechanisms underlying obsessive compulsive symptoms. Previous researchers have emphasized that perfectionist attitudes and thought action-fusion link to increase in obsessive compulsive symptom severity in clinical and nonclinical samples. However, multi-dimensional relations between obsessive compulsive symptoms and vulnerability factors such as interpersonal schemas have received little attention. This study examined connections between cognitive vulnerability factors and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Method: The data collected from 263 university students. Associations between variables were analyzed by using structural equation modeling. Results: The results of the study indicated that dysfunctional interpersonal schemas were the most hazardous factors that predict perfectionist attitudes, thought action-fusion, and symptom severity in obsessive compulsive disorder. Washing and precision were the final manifestation symptoms mediated by checking. Maladaptive interpersonal schemas, perfectionist attitudes, and thought action-fusion were all vulnerability agents in the development of obsessive compulsive symptoms. Checking played a prominent role in exacerbation of obsessive –compulsive symptoms. Conclusion: Onset and maintenance of obsessive-compulsive disorder is a multidimensional process. Negativistic interpersonal beliefs seem to be an important risk factor. Findings are discussed in the light of current theoretical considerations.

Social Disconnection and Hazardous Drinking Mediate the Link Between Perfectionistic Attitudes and Depressive Symptoms

According to the perfectionism social disconnection model (PSDM), perfectionism leads to social disconnection (e.g., isolation, loneliness, and alienation) which brings about depressive symptoms. The present study extended the PSDM by testing a dual-pathway mediation model wherein social disconnection and hazardous drinking were hypothesized to explain why perfectionistic attitudes (e.g., intense self-criticism, evaluative concerns, and unrealistic goal-setting) result in depressive symptoms. A sample of 216 college students participated. The present study utilized a cross-sectional design and self-report questionnaires. The hypothesized model fit the data well, with social disconnection and hazardous drinking mediating the perfectionistic attitudes-depressive symptoms link. Students high in perfectionistic attitudes report feeling isolated, lonely, and alienated. To escape this powerful sense of not belonging, these students turn to alcohol in a self-destructive way. Suffering from the ill effects of social disconnection and hazardous drinking, students high in perfectionistic attitudes are vulnerable to depressive symptoms.

It's Bad to be too Good: The Perils of Striving for Perfection in Teaching

Abstract This paper looks at novice teacher's perceptions and aspirations of their teaching. Reading through the blogs of 50 novice science teachers, some teachers were coping better than others with their new placements. Whereas some novice teachers were very frustrated and dissatisfied, others used successful strategies to overcome obstacles. Subsequent analysis of a questionnaire that looked at perfectionist attitudes among these teachers along with their PGCE counterparts across all subjects (a total of 279 teachers) confirmed that the ways in which teachers approached their new role, affected their teaching and the amount of frustration that they encountered. The research warns of the importance of guiding novice teachers with ideas of excellence rather than perfection that many feel they need to attain.

Perfectionist Attitudes of Artistically Talented Students in the Art Classroom

Perfectionism has been studied within its dimensions in the literature and often defined as adaptive or maladaptive in its nature. While various instruments have been developed to measure perfectionism, this study focused particularly on perfectionism as artistic expressions and classroom behavior. Lack of research and evidences associating perfectionism with student artworks inspired this study. Findings showed connections between aspects of perfectionism, student created artworks and student behavior in the art classroom. It was concluded that study of students' artworks has potential to identify perfectionism as another source of information among artistically talented students. Findings revealed specific perfectionism-related attitudes and expressions in the art club.

Ballet and pain: reflections on a risk-dance culture

This qualitative study of Western Canadian dancers explores how elements of the ballet world, and associated risk-taking behaviours, affect the physical and emotional health of dancers. Authoritarian power structures, intensely competitive training and performing environments, and hyper-critical and perfectionist attitudes of instructors and performers are found to be ubiquitous pressures that initially appear to facilitate success in dance but may ultimately compromise health. Drawing upon existing knowledge from the sociology of sport, we conceive of ballet as a ‘culture of risk’ that normalises pain and injury and encourages dancers to understand and talk about their pain in ways that both suppress and trivialise it. In addition, the pain–injury experience was found to have negative emotional consequences, such as feelings of crisis and loss, shame, guilt and anxiety for dancers who are complicit in accepting the often unhealthy conventions of the dance subculture, including problem approaches to eating and weight. Finally, because existing literatures have shown that gender and risk intersect in human movement cultures (such as sport and dance), the paper also considers the gender dimensions of ballet, and the ways in which the core identities of participants grow uneasily out of a setting that both rewards and hurts dancers.

Perfectionism and other related trait measures as predictors of mortality in diabetic older adults: A six-and-a-half-year longitudinal study

After baseline assessment of health and perfectionism trait measures, 385 diabetic older adults were followed for six-and-a-half years. We hypothesized that the potential for increased stress associated with perfectionism leads to an increased risk of impending mortality for diabetics. Contrary to our hypothesis, mortality risk was 29 percent lower for high scorers on the perfectionism (self-oriented) dimension, compared to low scorers. In contrast, Cox regression analysis showed that high scores on measures of dysfunctional perfectionistic attitudes and dysfunctional dependency, which in many respects parallel the perfectionism (self-oriented) measure, were associated with an increased risk of mortality. Implications of findings are discussed.

Cognitive and Health-Related Outcomes of Group Cognitive Behavioural Treatment for People With Depressive Symptoms in Hong Kong: Randomized Wait-List Control Study

This study examined the efficacy of a territory-wide cognitive behavioural group treatment programme for Chinese people with depression launched in Hong Kong. Three hundred and forty-seven subjects with depressive symptoms (i.e. Beck Depression Inventory-Chinese version >9) were randomly assigned to CBT and waitlist control groups. After 10 weeks of treatment, participants in the group CBT programme had significantly fewer symptoms of depression, fewer dysfunctional and perfectionist attitudes, and better quality of life when compared to the participants in the control group. Effect size statistics showed small to medium differences in symptoms of depression, dysfunctional and perfectionist attitudes and quality of life between the two groups (Cohen's d, 0.22-0.74). Statistical analysis of the clinical significance indicated that approximately 27% of the participants in the experimental group could be considered as clinically remitted or recovered, respectively (RCI >1.28). Last, multiple regression provided some evidence of a linkage between cognition and depression among the participants in the experimental group. The design and content of the group CBT programme, which aimed at facilitating the understanding and modification of automatic thoughts and dysfunctional attitudes among the participants, might have contributed to the initial positive results.

The interaction of perfectionism, perceived weight status, and self-esteem to predict bulimic symptoms: The role of ‘benign’ perfectionism

The present study sought to replicate an interactive model of global perfectionism, perceived weight status, and self-esteem in predicting bulimic symptom development in a sample of young women [Bardone-Cone, et al. (2006). Predicting bulimic symptoms: An interactive model of self-efficacy, perfectionism, and perceived weight status. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44, 27–42; Vohs, K. D., et al. (1999). Perfectionism, perceived weight status, and self-esteem interact to predict bulimic symptoms: A model of bulimic symptom development. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 108, 695–700; Vohs, K. D., et al. (2001). Perfectionism, body dissatisfaction, and self-esteem: An interactive model of bulimic symptom development. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 20, 476–497]. The aim was to investigate the role of ‘problematic’ and ‘benign’ perfectionism within this model, using data from 95 female university students over a 3-month period. Contrary to hypotheses, multivariate analyses revealed a significant three-way interaction only between ‘benign’ perfectionism, perceived weight status and self-esteem in predicting change in bulimic symptoms over a 3-month period. The predictive effect of the interaction between ‘benign’ perfectionism and perceived weight status on bulimic symptoms was strongest for women with high self-esteem, for whom feeling overweight and having perfectionistic attitudes preceded increased bulimic symptoms. These findings suggest that high self-esteem is insufficient to protect against the development of bulimic symptoms when both the perception of oneself as being overweight, and high levels of perfectionistic standards, are present. It would appear that the role of perfectionism within the context of disordered eating is complex.

Renewal in the practice of medicine

Entombed at the bottom of Barents Sea in the dark, torpedo-shattered hulk of the once mighty Russian attack submarine Kursk, 27-year-old Captain-Lieutenant Dimitri Kolesnikov blindly wrote to Olga, his bride, a note of love. Dimitri’s message, magnified by its poignancy and undiminished by his tragic death, demands our attention as to what is fundamentally important in our lives. Indeed his perspective, which we will explore, provides the bedrock upon which balance and renewal must rest. Substantial pressures, intrinsic to the care of patients, are amplified in an era of increasing regulation, heightened expectation and decreasing professional satisfaction. These distortions exist throughout all levels of medical education with painful impact on patient and practitioner alike. In a recent study of stress surveying nearly 200 Canadian women physicians, three major themes were identified: perfectionist attitudes toward professional and personal activities; the reality of multiple roles, especially caring for small children and competing demands . . . that compromised time for personal activities or rest; a work environment not always flexible or hospitable to the needs of women physicians [1]. Similar studies catalogue the factors which impact house staff as well as medical students and contribute to depression, disaffection with patient care, cynicism and burnout [2]. The so-called ‘hidden curriculum’ with its troublesome influence on idealism and empathy is unfortunately quite visible in its formative impact [3]. These elements coupled with our own compulsive traits (useful in attending to detail, potentially crippling in fueling the beliefs

Parental perfectionism and children's test anxiety.

This study investigated the association between parental perfectionism and students' test anxiety, as measured on self-report questionnaires. A random sample of 90 students in their last two years of secondary schooling and their parents (81 mothers, 76 fathers), with approximately equal numbers of people from different socioeconomic backgrounds, were included. A significant contribution to anxiety associated with an examination was by maternal perfectionistic attitudes. Girls had higher scores on Test Anxiety than boys. The results are discussed in terms of the relationship of Test Anxiety to family variables, and directions for research are indicated.

Perfectionism dimensions, perfectionistic attitudes, dependent attitudes, and depression in psychiatric patients and university students.

P. L. Hewitt and G. L. Flett's (1991b) model of perfectionism dimensions (i.e., self-oriented, other-oriented, and socially prescribed perfectionism) was compared with A. T. Beck's model (G. P. Brown & A.T. Beck, 2002) of dysfunctional attitudes (i.e., perfectionistic attitudes [PA] and dependent attitudes [DA]) in predicting depression in 70 psychiatric patients and 280 university students. Socially prescribed perfectionism uniquely predicted both PA and DA. Dysfunctional attitudes failed to consistently predict additional variance in depression beyond perfectionism dimensions (and vice versa). Evidence for Hewitt and Flett's specific vulnerability hypothesis and Beck's specific cognitive vulnerability hypothesis was equivocal. Beck's conceptualization of perfectionism as a unitary cognitive style obscures important information by overlooking the distinction between the self-related and socially based features of perfectionism. Hewitt and Flett's conceptualization of perfectionism as 3 distinct personality traits allows for precise conclusions by recognizing the differential contribution of the self-related and socially based features of perfectionism.

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

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.