Examining legalism,scrupulosity, family perfectionism,and psychological adjustment among LDS individuals

This study examined the relationships and interactions between legalism, scrupulosity, family perfectionism, guilt, and shame among 421 Latter-Day Saints (LDS or Mormons). The results showed that scrupulosity fully mediated the links between legalism and guilt, as well as legalism and shame. A moderated-mediation effect was found, in which family discrepancy (maladaptive perfectionism) intensified the scrupulosity–shame association in the mediation model of legalism and shame by scrupulosity. Family discrepancy was not a significant moderator for the mediation model of legalism and guilt by scrupulosity. Additional results are provided and implications of these findings are outlined.     

Adaptive and Maladaptive Perfectionism,Adult Attachment,and Big Five Personality Traits

The author examined the role of anxiety and avoidance dimensions of attachment and Big Five personality traits in adaptive and maladaptive dimensions of perfectionism among 604 (377 male, 227 female) Turkish university students. The results of 2 separate multiple regression analyses yielded that adaptive perfectionism was significantly predicted by conscientiousness, openness, and extraversion. Maladaptive perfectionism was significantly predicted by the neuroticism, anxiety, and avoidance dimensions of attachment. The authors discuss the implications, limitations, and future directions for research.     

The 2 × 2 model of perfectionism: Commenting the critical comments and suggestions of

The 2 × 2 model of perfectionism has recently been analyzed in a critical commentary from Stoeber (2012). The purpose of this article was to have another look at some of the key assumptions of the 2 × 2 model – with a particular focus on the ones that were critically reviewed by Stoeber (2012). In this article, I have tried to clarify our theoretical position to facilitate further theorizing and empirical examination of the 2 × 2 model. The article starts with an overview of the 2 × 2 model of perfectionism. Then, it reiterates the conceptual meanings attached to subtypes of perfectionism while emphasizing that the word “subtype” is a diminutive for within-person combinations of perfectionism. The article proceeds to outline the importance of adopting neutral labels to define subtypes of perfectionism in order to differentiate them from their expected outcomes. The 2 × 2 model is subsequently described as an open-ended theoretical system in which the four hypotheses are needed to offer a compelling framework to test moderating effects. The article also proposes alternative methods, with a particular focus on equivalence testing in order to empirically determine whether some subtypes of perfectionism are associated with equivalent outcomes.     

Dominant achievement goals and different profiles among secondary students / Dominancia de metas de logro y perfiles específicos en enseñanza secundaria

Abstract

Spanish adolescents’ dominant achievement goals and their specific profiles were explored in a physical education context. A sample of 385 students (207 males and 178 females, M = 14.2 years) completed a questionnaire that included 2x2 achievement goals (AGQ-PE), dominant achievement goals, affectivity (PANASN), perfectionism (IPI) and outcome variables such as satisfaction with life (SLS), and intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and amotivation (PLOC). Eighty-seven percent of participants showed dominant achievement goals, the highest percentage was mastery-approach (66%). Patterns found were consistent with the theoretical framework. Students that showed dominant mastery-approach achievement goals had a positively valenced profile. Those that showed performance-approach dominance had a positive and negative valenced profile. The ones that showed performance-avoidance had a negative valenced profile. Finally, subjects that showed mastery-avoidance dominance had a neutral valenced profile.     

Adaptive and Maladaptive Perfectionism as Mediators of Adult Attachment Styles and Depression,Hopelessness, and Life Satisfaction

This study examined the relationships between adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism, anxious and avoidant adult attachment styles, depression, hopelessness, and life satisfaction among a sample of 180 undergraduate students. Maladaptive perfectionism mediated the relationship between both forms of adult attachment and depression, hopelessness, and life satisfaction. Adaptive perfectionism mediated the relationship between avoidant adult attachment and hopelessness and life satisfaction. Implications for counselors and future research directions are discussed.     

Double trouble: restrained eaters do not eat less and feel worse

Objective: While high levels of dietary restraint do not appear to reflect actual caloric restraint, it has been found to be a risk factor for a wide array of maladaptive eating patterns. These findings raise the question what, if not caloric restriction, dietary restraint entails. We propose that the very finding that restrained eaters do not eat less than they intend to do can provide an answer. Based on this disparity between the intention to restrain oneself and actual behaviour, we therefore hypothesised that high levels of restraint are associated with eating-related guilt.

Method: Three studies (N?=?148) using unobtrusive measures of food intake; different restraint scales; and different measures of guilt tested whether restraint is related to eating-related guilt.

Results: Results indicated that restraint was not associated with food intake, but instead was associated with increased levels of guilt after eating. Guilt was explicitly related to food intake. Moreover, the observed guilt could not be attributed to a general increase in negative affect.

Conclusion: The results of these studies suggest that restraint is not an indicator of actual restricted food intake, but rather a reflection concerns about food and eating manifested in eating-related guilt.     

Perfectionism and health: A mediational analysis of the roles of stress,social support and health-related behaviours

This study tested a model derived from personality theory in which perceived stress, perceived social support, health-risk and health-promotion behaviours mediate the relationship between perfectionism and perceived physical health. A sample of 538 undergraduate students completed a web-based survey assessing multi-dimensional perfectionism, perceived stress, perceived social support, health behaviours, physical health and a scale tapping elements of the five-factor model of personality. Analyses that account for the effects of traits from the five-factor model (e.g., neuroticism, conscientiousness and extraversion) indicated that socially prescribed perfectionism was associated with poorer physical health and this association was fully mediated by higher levels of perceived stress and lower levels of perceived social support. Self-oriented perfectionism was related complexly to health such that it was related to poorer health via higher levels of perceived stress, but was also related to better health via higher levels of perceived social support. Our findings illustrate the need for considering key mediators of the link between perfectionism and poor health outcomes.     

Dependency and perfectionism: Short-term dynamic group psychotherapy for university students

Abstract

This paper is based on the authors' experiences of conducting short-term psychodynamic group therapy with university students. The therapy groups focus on common problems among the members, i.e. perfectionism, procrastination, and fear of graduation. Working on their dependency and on their inadequate separation from parental figures typically helps the students cope more creatively with their academic problems. The paper explores technical questions and possible advantages in working within a short time frame using a group analytic approach.     

Intolerance of Uncertainty Mediates the Relation Between Generalized Anxiety Disorder Symptoms and Anger

Previous research has shown that individuals with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) report elevated anger compared with nonanxious individuals; however, the pathways linking GAD and anger are currently unknown. We hypothesized that negative beliefs about uncertainty, negative beliefs about worry and perfectionism dimensions mediate the relationship between GAD symptoms and anger variables. We employed multiple mediation with bootstrapping on cross-sectional data from a student sample (N = 233) to test four models assessing potential mediators of the association of GAD symptoms to inward anger expression, outward anger expression, trait anger and hostility, respectively. The belief that uncertainty has negative personal and behavioural implications uniquely mediated the association of GAD symptoms to inward anger expression (confidence interval [CI] = .0034, .1845, P_M = .5444), and the belief that uncertainty is unfair and spoils everything uniquely mediated the association of GAD symptoms to outward anger expression (CI = .0052, .1936, P_M = .4861) and hostility (CI = .0269, .2427, P_M = .3487). Neither negative beliefs about worry nor perfectionism dimensions uniquely mediated the relation of GAD symptoms to anger constructs. We conclude that intolerance of uncertainty may help to explain the positive connection between GAD symptoms and anger, and these findings give impetus to future longitudinal investigations of the role of anger in GAD.     

The effect of perceived stress on the relationship between perfectionism and burnout in coaches

Abstract

The effects of perceived stress (PS) on the relationship between adaptive and maladaptive forms of perfectionism and burnout were examined. Smith's (1986) stress appraisal model and Kelley, Eklund, and Ritter-Taylor's (1999) model of coach burnout were used to test two models of burnout in a sample of college coaches (N=177). The results indicated that there is an indirect effect of self-evaluative perfectionism (i.e., maladaptive form of perfectionism) on burnout through PS as well as a significant direct link to burnout, accounting for 56% of its variance. In contrast, conscientious perfectionism (CP) (i.e., adaptive perfectionism) did not directly impact burnout, nor was there an indirect effect through PS. Based on Lazarus's (1999) ideas about stress appraisal, the results suggested that maladaptive forms of perfectionism resulted in more threatening perceptions of stress, thus, potentially leading to the experience of burnout. However, adaptive forms of perfectionism did not seem to result in increased appraisals of stress or result in burnout. The results did indicate a significant correlation between the two forms of perfectionism, which may explain why CP did not significantly impact PS or burnout.