The Measurement Of Perfectionistic Personality Trait And Its Relationship With Depression In College Students

ObjectsPerfectionism is commonly conceived of as a personality style characterized by striving for flawless-ness and setting of excessively high standards for performance accompanied by tendencies for overly critical evaluations of one's behavior. The present study aims to explore the construct and nature of perfectionism, to compare different groups of perfectionists on psychological adjustment, to identify the dual process model of perfectionism, to examine the relationship between perfection-ism and depression, to test the mediation effects of both self-esteem and coping styles between perfectionism and depression. Therefore, we conducted five studies.MethodsIn study1, a sample of584Chinese university students completed measures of the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale-Chinese Revised (FMPS), Hewitt Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale-Chinese Revised (HMPS), Slaney Almost Perfect Scale-Chinese Revised (APS-R), Rosenberg self-esteem Scale (SES), General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), State Anxiety Inventory (SAI), Beck Depression Inven-tory (BDI). Pearson correlation, exploratory factor analysis and confir- matory factor analysis were used to explore the construct and nature of perfectionism and examine the relationships between different perfec-tionism dimensions and psychological adjustment variables.In study2, a sample of261Chinese university students completed measures of the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale-Chinese Revised (FMPS), Hewitt Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale-Chinese Revised (HMPS), Slaney Almost Perfect Scale-Chinese Revised (APS-R), Waston Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS), Rosenberg self-esteem Scale (SES), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Cluster analysis and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) were used to empirically identify groups of perfectionists and compare different perfectionists on mental health variables.In study3, a sample of292Chinese university students completed measures of the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale-Chinese Revised (FMPS), Hewitt Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale-Chinese Revised (HMPS), Slaney Almost Perfect Scale-Chinese Revised (APS-R), Waston Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS). Pearson correlation, partial correlation and structural equation model analysis were used to explore the relations among different perfectionism dimen-sions, positive affect and negative affect, testify the dual process model of perfectionism and test the model whether the measurement and struc-tural weights did not differ by gender. In study4, a sample of206Chinese university students completed measures of the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale-Chinese Revised (FMPS), Hewitt Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale-Chinese Revised (HMPS),Slaney Almost Perfect Scale-Chinese Revised (APS-R), State Anxiety Inventory (SAI), Beck Depression Inven-tory(BDI). Multiple Linear regression analysis, hierarchical multiple re-gression were used to compare the predictive validity of the different perfectionism subscales in the prediction of the depressive symptoms and to predict the change in depression across a four-month longitudinal study.In study5, a sample of412Chinese university students completed measures of the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale-Chinese Revised (FMPS), Hewitt Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale-Chinese Revised (HMPS),Slaney Almost Perfect Scale-Chinese Revised (APS-R), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (SES), Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ). Pearson correlation, structural model analyses were used to test the mediation effects of both self-esteem and coping styles between perfectionism and depression, and test the mediation model whether the measurement and structural weights did not differ by gender.ResultsIn study1, it was found that perfectionism measures were factored as three second order perfectionism factors-adaptive perfectionism, maladaptive perfectionism, and orderliness. Maladaptive perfectionism was significantly and negatively correlated with self-esteem and self-efficacy (r=-0.46,-0.16; p<0.01), and positively correlated with anxiety and depression (r=0.48,0.55; p<.001), while adaptive perfec-tionism was significantly and positively correlated with self-esteem and self-efficacy (r=0.12,0.19;p<0.05), and not significantly correlated with anxiety and depression (r=0.07,0.10;p>0.05).In study2, it was found that cluster analyses were used to identify adaptive and maladaptive perfectionists and nonperfectionists based on maladaptive and adaptive dimensions. Adaptive perfectionists have sig-nificantly higher scores on positive psychological indicators than mal-adaptive perfectionists (p<0.001), whereas Adaptive perfectionists sig-nificantly lower scores on negative psychological indicators than mal-adaptive perfectionists (p<0.001). Scores of nonperfectionists on posi-tive psychological indicators were between adaptive perfectionists and maladaptive perfectionists. Scores of nonperfectionists on negative psy-chological indicators were close to adaptive perfectionists.In study3, it was found that maladaptive perfectionism predicted negative affect significantly and positively (β=0.48, p<0.001), while adaptive perfectionism predicted positive affect significantly and posi-tively (β=0.49, p<0.001). A dual-process structural model of perfection- ism was fitted to the data well (χ2=124.90, df=32, GFI=0.92, CFI=0.92, NFI=0.90, TLI=0.90, RMSEA=0.100). A multi-group analysis in SEM was performed to confirm that the model was measurement invariance between male and female.In study4, in cross-sectional analyses, the discrepancy and the so-cial-prescribed perfectionism subscales of maladaptive perfectionism could significantly predict baseline depressive symptoms (β=0.372, P<0.001;β=0.264, p<0.01), while none of adaptive perfectionism sub-scales could predict depression (p>0.05). In longitudinal analyses, none of perfectionism subscales significantly predicted the change in depres-sion across a four-month lag (p>0.05).In study5, structural equation modeling indicated that negative coping and positive coping both partially mediated the association be-tween maladaptive perfectionism and depression. The final model also revealed that positive coping partially mediated the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and self-esteem (χ2=42.24, df=23, GFI=0.96, CFI=0.97, NFI=0.93, TLI=0.95, RMSEA=0.064, AIC=86.23, BIC=159.45). A multi-group analysis in SEM was performed to confirm that the mediation model was measurement invariance between male and female.Conclusions1. The current study verifies perfectionism is best explained as a three-factor multidimensional construct. The results also support that perfectionism should be divided into maladaptive perfectionism and adaptive perfectionism.2. There are significant differences on both positive and negative psychological indicators among different perfectionists.3. Maladaptive perfectionism is distinct from adaptive perfectionism. These are two independent components of perfectionism. The results support for the dual process model of perfectionism and the measure-ment invariance in this model between male and female.4. The discrepancy and the social prescribed perfectionism subscales of maladaptive perfectionism can significantly predict depression.5. Negative coping and positive coping both partially mediate the association between maladaptive perfectionism and depression. Positive coping partially mediate the relationship between maladaptive perfec-tionism and self-esteem. The mediation model is the measurement in-variance between male and female.