Factor structure and psychometric properties of a Polish adaptation of the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale

Abstract

The Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS) is one of the most popular questionnaires for measuring perfectionism. Although this scale is in common use, its psychometric parameters still remain in dispute. The aim of this article is to present the Polish adaptation of the FMPS in a non-clinical sample. 696 university students aged 18 to 42 (M = 26.74, SD = 7.56) took part in the study. Confirmatory Factor Analyses suggested that the most appropriate factor structure of the adapted version of the FMPS contains 5 correlated factors: CM (concerns over mistakes), DAA (doubts about actions), PE (parental expectations), PC (parental criticism), and PS (personal standards). The ORG (organization) subscale was removed after evaluation. The evaluation of the specific relationships of each dimension of the adapted version of the FMPS with shame, guilt, worry, rumination, and indecisiveness revealed that when controlling for the variances of the remaining dimensions, significant relationships occurred almost only in the case of the CM, DAA and PS scales, suggesting that they constitute the three core facets of perfectionism as measured by the FMPS.

Perfectionism and Identity Processes in Two Domains: Mediational Roles of Worry, Rumination, Indecisiveness, Shame, and Guilt

“…Three subscales from the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale were used (FMPS; Frost et al, 1990; Polish adaptation: Piotrowski and Bojanowska, 2019). Perfectionistic strivings were assessed using the Personal Standards subscale (seven items, e.g., It is important to me that I be thoroughly competent in everything I do ), while perfectionistic concerns were assessed with the sum of two other subscales: Concern over Mistakes (nine items, e.g., If I fail at work/school, I am a failure as a person ) and Doubts about Actions (four items, Even when I do something very carefully, I often feel that it is not quite done right ).…”

“…The Worry Domains Questionnaire-Short Form (WDQ-SF; Stöber and Joormann, 2001; Piotrowski and Bojanowska, 2019) was used to measure the severity of the tendency to worry. The scale has been translated using the back-translation procedure.…”

“…Indecisiveness was measured with the Frost Indecisiveness Scale (FIS; Frost and Shows, 1993; Piotrowski and Bojanowska, 2019). The measure consists of 15 items measuring the intensity of general indecisiveness (e.g., I try to put off making decisions ), assessed on a Likert scale from 1-strongly disagree to 5-strongly agree .…”

Child-oriented and partner-oriented perfectionism explain different aspects of family difficulties

“…The obtained results may also be significant for further studies on determinants of the development of perfectionism in children and adolescents. Experiences acquired in the family of origin are crucial for the development of perfectionism, particularly the parents' criticism, their authoritarian attitude towards the child, the lack of permission to make mistakes, and dysfunctional psychological control [1,2,19,20,38]. The parents' perfectionism is also inter-generationally transferred on to children.…”

Child-oriented and partner-oriented perfectionism explain different aspects of family difficulties

“…The obtained results may also be significant for further studies on determinants of the development of perfectionism in children and adolescents. Experiences acquired in the family of origin are crucial for the development of perfectionism, particularly the parents' criticism, their authoritarian attitude towards the child, the lack of permission to make mistakes, and dysfunctional psychological control [1,2,32,33,34]. The parents' perfectionism is also intergenerationally transferred on to children.…”