Perfectionism and sleep disturbance

Abstract

The main purpose of the present research was to explore gender-related associations between sleep disturbance and perfectionism dimensions in a large sample of undergraduate students. Perfectionism dimensions have been assessed using the Portuguese version of the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (Hewitt and Flett, 1991 , J Pers Soc Psychol 60:456; Soares et al., 2003 , Rev Port Psicossom 5:46) and sleep disturbance with two items concerning difficulties initiating sleep and difficulties maintaining sleep. A total of 1163 undergraduate students of both genders between 17 and 25 years of age completed the scale. Results from correlational and categorial analyses indicated that socially prescribed perfectionism was the only dimension associated with sleep disturbance in undergraduate students of both genders. Males with the highest levels of socially prescribed perfectionism were approximately twice more likely to report sleep disturbances than those with less socially prescribed perfectionism. Similar results were found within the female sample. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed.

Sleep disturbances, body mass index and eating behaviour in undergraduate students

“…A sleep disturbance index (SDI) was calculated from the sum of DIS and DMS item scores. All sleep measures have reasonable temporal stability (Azevedo et al. , 2009).…”

Perfectionism and disordered eating in overweight woman

“…Many studies have shown that perfectionism plays an integral role in the etiology, maintenance and course of a wide range of psychopathologic conditions such as depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social phobia, suicidal behavior, eating disorders (ED) (Egan, Wade, & Shafran, 2011;Shafran & Mansell, 2001) and sleep problems (Azevedo et al, 2009;Azevedo et al, 2010;Bos et al, 2013).…”

Affective state dependence and relative trait stability of perfectionism in sleep disturbances

“…2,3 One of the limitations of the present work is that we did not control for the effects of anxiety and depression, which could be related to perfectionism and insomnia. 2 Other relevant psychological distress variables, such as dysfunctional cognitions (worry or rumination) and coping styles, were not assessed. In future studies, it is important to evaluate the bidirectional relationship between personality and sleep difficulties, considering these relevant variables.…”

“…The fact that some of the residual variance in SOP was significantly explained by the variance in sleep measures is not completely surprising. Lundh et al, 4 comparing insomniacs and controls, also found a significant association between insomnia and concern over mistakes and personal standards; and Azevedo et al 2 found small but significant associations between difficulties initiating sleep, difficulties maintaining sleep, and overall sleep disturbance and SOP, particularly with items related to setting high standards and concern over mistakes. In most psychopathological conditions or symptoms, the negative role of perfectionism as a risk factor has been established essentially in respect to SPP.…”

“…[2][3][4][5][6] Lundh and Broman's cognitive model of insomnia proposes that sleep-interfering psychological processes (e.g. arousal, worries, and emotional conflicts) and sleep-interpreting psychological processes (e.g.…”