Reflections on Three Decades of Research on Multidimensional Perfectionism: An Introduction to the Special Issue on Further Advances in the Assessment of Perfectionism

Abstract

In this article, we introduce this second special issue on the assessment of perfectionism along with an overview of developments in the perfectionism field over the past 30 years following the shift to studying perfectionism as a multidimensional construct. We examine some key contributions over the past decade, including the proliferation of meta-analyses and apparent rise over time in the prevalence of self-oriented, other-oriented, and socially prescribed perfectionism. We also outline what we consider to be seven definitive truths about the perfectionism construct and how these themes are reflected in the articles that follow. This special issue includes papers that describe abbreviated measures of existing perfectionism scales as well as new measures. Other papers in this special issue demonstrate the need to supplement a trait approach with a focus on cognitive perfectionism and to evaluate key mediators of the association between perfectionism and depression. Other research illustrates the usefulness of supplementing the predominant variable-focused approach with a person-centered approach. Collectively, the papers address several significant issues and outline key directions for future research in the next decade of research on multidimensional perfectionism.

How Does Perfectionism Influence the Development of Psychological Strengths and Difficulties in Children?

“…Overall, the findings suggest that high perfectionism in children was related to psychological problems, especially the self-critical aspect of this construct, which supported previous literature about its maladaptive nature [6,10,13,14,27]. In addition, from our knowledge, the adaptive value of perfectionism in children's psychological strengths is highlighted for the first time.…”

“…The SOP-Critical subscale was the lowest for all levels of perfectionism. 3 Bonferroni correction applied to p-values was used to reduce the risk of type I errors post hoc analysis, 4 High, 5 Medium, 6 Low, 7 self-oriented perfectionism-Striving, 8 self-oriented perfectionism-Critical, 9 socially prescribed perfectionism, 10 total perfectionism score.…”

“…Table 5 reports step 3 when the interaction between terms for the model increased the explained variance. 3 confidence interval, 4 standardized regression coefficient, 5 obtained t-value for each predictor variable, 6 probability, 7 proportion of variance explained, 8 adjusted proportion of variance explained, 9 Self-oriented Perfectionism-Striving, 10 Self-oriented Perfectionism-Critical, and 11 Socially Prescribed Perfectionism.…”

“…This integrative definition encompasses a set of very strict self-imposed demands about what individuals believe they should become [4,5]. Other definitions have noted that perfectionism is a multi-dimensional concept composed of both intrapersonal and interpersonal traits [6]. For instance, Hewitt et al [7] identified three main dimensions of perfectionism: self-oriented perfectionism, which involves self-requirements to be perfect, other-oriented perfectionism, which concerns demands for others to be perfect, and socially prescribed perfectionism, which involves perceptions that others require the self to be perfect.…”

A Systematic Review on the Psychological Effects of Perfectionism and Accompanying Treatment

“…The roots of the scientific study of perfectionism can be traced to psychoanalytic theory and in particular, the work of Karen Horney and Alfred Adler (Flett & Hewitt, 2019;Flett et al, 2017;Smith et al, 2018). Psychoanalytic treatment focused on the notion that perfectionism has roots in neuroticism and resulting behaviors were a form of over-compensation (Smith et al, 2018).…”