Perfectionism and its role in depressive disorders.

Hewitt, Paul L.; Smith, Martin M.; Ge, Sabrina; Mössler, Marcia; Flett, Gordon L.

doi:10.1037/cbs0000306

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 78 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…First, perfectionistic behavior can act as a core vulnerability (Hewitt & Flett, 2002) or transdiagnostic factor (Bieling et al, 2004; Shafran & Mansell, 2001) that influences the onset and maintenance of various disorders and dysfunctions. Indeed, self-oriented perfectionism often acts as a vulnerability factor in unipolar depression and chronic depressive symptoms (Enns & Cox, 1999; Hewitt & Flett, 1993; Hewitt et al, 1996, 1998; Hewitt, Smith, Ge et al, 2022; Smith et al, 2016), anorexia nervosa (Bastiani et al, 1995) and early death (Fry & Debats, 2009). Similarly, other-oriented perfectionism is associated with significant personality, marital, sexual, and other relationship dysfunctions (e.g., Haring et al, 2003; Stoeber, 2014), while socially prescribed perfectionism is associated with suicide ideation, risk, and attempts in both child and adult samples (Flett et al, 2022; Hewitt et al, 2017; O’Connor, 2007; Smith et al, 2018).…”

Section: The Comprehensive Model Of Perfectionistic Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

The efficacy of group psychotherapy for adults with perfectionism: A randomized controlled trial of dynamic-relational therapy versus psychodynamic supportive therapy.

Hewitt¹,

Kealy²,

Mikail³

et al. 2023

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective: This randomized controlled trial investigated the efficacy of group dynamic-relational therapy (DRT) relative to group psychodynamic supportive therapy (PST) in treating perfectionism and improving psychological functioning. Hypothesis: Psychodynamically informed therapies, particularly DRT, will be efficacious in treating perfectionism and functioning outcomes. Method: Based on a comprehensive conceptualization of perfectionism, 80 community-recruited, highly perfectionistic individuals were randomly allocated to 12 sessions of group DRT (n = 41; 5 groups) or group PST (n = 39; 5 groups). Patients completed measures of trait perfectionism, perfectionistic self-presentation, perfectionistic cognitions, symptom distress, life satisfaction, and work and social adjustment at pre-, mid-, and posttreatment and 6 months posttreatment. Results: Multigroup latent growth curve modeling revealed significant (p < .05) decreases in all perfectionism components and improvements in all functioning outcomes from pretreatment to 6-month follow-up in both DRT and PST. Likewise, analyses revealed substantial reliable improvement across conditions for all perfectionism components. Last, moderate-to-large between-group differences favoring DRT over PST were found for self-oriented perfectionism, perfectionistic self-promotion, nondisplay of imperfection, nondisclosure of imperfection, and work and social adjustment. Conclusion: Findings provide evidence for the use of psychodynamic approaches in the treatment of perfectionism and support the relative efficacy of DRT for components of perfectionism. What is the public health significance of this article?This study found evidence supporting the efficacy of psychodynamically informed treatments for perfectionism, a pernicious vulnerability factor in many disorders and dysfunctions. Results also indicated that dynamic-relational therapy was superior to psychodynamic supportive therapy for most components of perfectionism and work and social adjustment. The findings support the importance of psychodynamic group psychotherapy approaches, and dynamic-relational therapy in particular, in treating perfectionism.

show abstract

Section: The Comprehensive Model Of Perfectionistic Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

The efficacy of group psychotherapy for adults with perfectionism: A randomized controlled trial of dynamic-relational therapy versus psychodynamic supportive therapy.

Hewitt¹,

Kealy²,

Mikail³

et al. 2023

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Hence, perfectionism appears to have a predictive relationship with depression in which the trait further contributes to the maintenance of depressive symptoms [ 17 ]. Furthermore, treatments targeting perfectionism may be effective in decreasing depressive symptoms [ 18 ]. Thus, expanding our understanding of the relationship between mood symptoms and perfectionism subtypes would be beneficial, as this will have implications for the development of effective clinical treatments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Relationship between Mood Symptom Severity and Perfectionism Subtypes in Mood Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Previous research suggests that there is a link between perfectionism and symptoms of depression. This study aimed to see if different types of perfectionism are linked differently to symptoms of depression in mood disorders and if there is a relationship between perfectionism and symptoms of mania in bipolar disorder. Methods: A systematic search was conducted in the databases PsycINFO, EMBASE, Web of Science, and PubMed to find papers which examined the relationship in clinical depression and bipolar disorder. A meta-analysis pooled the correlation effect sizes for mood symptoms severity and the severity of the perfectionism subtype. Results: Twelve papers were included in the review, with five of these being included in the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis found statistically significant positive correlations between greater severity of depression symptoms and more severe perfectionism for the following subtypes: concern over mistakes, doubts about actions, other-oriented perfectionism, parental criticism, self-oriented perfectionism, and socially prescribed perfectionism. There was no significant relationship between depression symptoms and perfectionism subtypes of organisation and personal standards. There were not enough studies reporting data for manic symptoms for the meta-analysis or for any firm conclusions to be drawn. Conclusions: The relationship between depression and perfectionism differs depending on the particular type of perfectionism examined. Most studies were cross-sectional and correlational, so causation cannot be inferred, and future longitudinal studies are needed.

show abstract

“…While perfectionism has been suggested to be a transdiagnostic phenomenon, it has been most strongly associated with a risk of depression, eating disorders, and anxiety disorders in adolescence (Robinson & Wade, 2021). Perfectionism has also been described as a predisposing factor for depressive symptoms in youth (Hewitt et al, 2022), and a reciprocal relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and depressive symptoms has been reported in both clinical and non-clinical samples (Smith et al, 2021). Elevated perfectionism is also described as one of the predisposing and maintaining factors of eating disorders (Fairburn et al, 2003) and is shown to be associated with eating-related symptoms among children and adolescents in clinical samples (Johnston et al, 2018) and among students from the general population (Asl et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Relationship between Perfectionism, Psychiatric disorders and Use of Mental Health Services in Adolescence: Results from a National Patient Register Linkage Study

Sand

Bøe

Stormark

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The aim of the present study was to examine perfectionism among adolescents in relation to psychiatric disorders and contact with child and adolescent mental health care services (CAMHS). The sample consisted of adolescents (16–19 years) who participated in the youth@hordaland survey and consented to a linkage to the patient registry data (n = 9072, 53.2% girls). Those who had received help from CAMHS (n = 933, 10.3%) were categorized as the clinical group, while the remaining adolescents (n = 8139, 89.7%) defined a reference group. Perfectionism was measured by the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 as a sum score (EDI-P) and subscales for Self-Oriented (SOP) and Socially-Oriented (SPP) perfectionism. The clinical group scored higher on SPP than the reference group (1.99, SD = 1.75, vs. 1.88, SD = 1.56, p < .05), but not on EDI-P or SOP. There were more high scorers in the clinical group than the reference group for EDI-P (11.8% vs. 8.9%, p < .01) and SPP (11.9% vs. 6.7%, p < .001), but not for SOP. Adolescents with depression and eating disorders scored higher on all dimensions of perfectionism compared to the reference group, also when adjusting for sex. Perfectionism was higher in the clinical group than the reference group, and this was more pronounced for SPP than SOP. Only depression and eating disorders were associated with elevated perfectionism scores in the clinical group. Perfectionism should be targeted in future longitudinal studies as well as in clinical interventions in other to strengthen the mental health among adolescents.

show abstract

Perfectionism and its role in depressive disorders.

Cited by 13 publications

References 78 publications

The efficacy of group psychotherapy for adults with perfectionism: A randomized controlled trial of dynamic-relational therapy versus psychodynamic supportive therapy.

The efficacy of group psychotherapy for adults with perfectionism: A randomized controlled trial of dynamic-relational therapy versus psychodynamic supportive therapy.

The Relationship between Mood Symptom Severity and Perfectionism Subtypes in Mood Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The Relationship between Perfectionism, Psychiatric disorders and Use of Mental Health Services in Adolescence: Results from a National Patient Register Linkage Study

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About