Previous perfectionism measures have not been evaluated for use with clinical samples. This research examined the psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS), a 45-hem measure of self-oriented, other-oriented, and socially prescribed perfectionism. Study 1 provided normative data for various patient groups and demonstrated the stability of the MPS subscales in psychiatric patients. Study 2 showed that the MPS subscales have adequate concurrent validity, are not influenced by response biases, and that the items require a Grade 6-7 reading level. Overall, the MPS appears to be a useful measure for individuals with various clinical disorders. Historically, perfectionism has been associated with a variety of clinically relevant problems (eg., Adler, 1956; Homey, 1950); however, only recently have researchers begun to investigate the role of perfectionism in such disorders as depression (Hewitt &

These results suggest that patients with chronic pain and concurrent major depression and insomnia report the highest levels of pain-related impairment, but insomnia in the absence of major depression is also associated with increased pain and distress.

The prevalence of major depression in patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP) is approximately three to four times greater than that reported in the general population. In spite of these high prevalence rates, there have been few systematic attempts to investigate the efficacy of treatment for major depression in patients with CLBP. While several studies have examined the efficacy of antidepressant medication and psychological treatment in patients with chronic pain, most of these studies have focused on treating chronic pain rather than depression. The few studies that have specifically addressed the treatment of depression in CLBP indicate that tricyclic antidepressants and cognitive-behavioral approaches may be effective means of treating depressed chronic pain patients. Clinical issues related to diagnostic confounds, rehabilitation outcome, and conceptualizations of the relation between pain and depression are discussed. It is argued that, in patients with clinical levels of depression, treatment modalities specifically targeting depressive symptomatology deserve serious consideration as an integral component of pain management programs.

No abstract

This study sought to determine whether clinically significant improvement could be obtained using a psychodynamic/interpersonal group treatment based on a comprehensive conceptualization of perfectionism. A sample of 71 community-recruited perfectionistic individuals participated in the University of British Columbia Perfectionism Treatment Study. Eighteen of these participants were initially nonrandomly assigned to a waitlist control condition. All participants completed measures of perfectionism traits, perfectionistic self-presentation, and automatic perfectionistic thoughts, as well as measures of distress including depression, anxiety, and interpersonal problems at pretreatment, posttreatment, and at a 4-month follow-up. Multilevel modeling demonstrated that perfectionism levels decreased with large effect sizes and that these decreases were associated with reductions in distress measures. Clinically significant decreases were found in all perfectionism components, and posttreatment scores on most variables were significantly lower in the treatment condition versus the waitlist control condition. The findings suggest that psychodynamic/interpersonal group treatment is effective in treating components of perfectionism.