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Theory and evidence converge to suggest perfectionism is a personality construct that matters a great deal and is linked with many consequential outcomes (e.g., depression, eating disorders, suicide, marital problems, and procrastination). With the multidimensional perfectionism construct turning 30 years of age, our review critically examines the past and the future of this construct with a focus on the six landmark dimensions of Hewitt and Flett's (1991) and Frost et al.'s (1990) seminal models: Self-oriented perfectionism, other-oriented perfectionism, socially prescribed perfectionism, personal standards, concerns over mistakes, and doubts about actions. Our review considers both what we understand about these dimensions given the extant empirical literature (i.e., known knowns) and areas where gaps exist in our understanding of multidimensional perfectionism and its consequences (i.e., known unknowns). Evidence suggests the core dimensions of Hewitt and Flett's (1991) and Frost et al.'s (1990) trait and attitudinal models of perfectionism, respectively, are neither captured by nor redundant with other well-established predictors. In fact, these perfectionism dimensions appear to represent core vulnerability factors that are tied intimately to the development and maintenance of a wide range of maladaptive outcomes. La théorie et la preuve convergent pour indiquer que le perfectionnisme est un aspect très important de la personnalité qui est lié à plusieurs conséquences (par ex., dépression, troubles alimentaires, suicide, problèmes conjugaux et procrastination). À l'occasion des 30 ans de la définition de la construction multidimensionnelle du perfectionnisme, notre revue jette un regard critique sur le passé et l'avenir de cette construction, en se concentrant sur les six dimensions repères des modèles précurseurs de Hewitt et Flett (1991) et de Frost et al. (1990) : le perfectionnisme orienté vers soi, le perfectionnisme orienté vers autrui, le perfectionnisme socialement prescrit, les normes personnelles, les préoccupations relatives à ses erreurs, les doutes relatifs à ses actions. Notre revue tient compte à la fois de ce que nous comprenons de ces dimensions, vu l'étendue de la littérature empirique (les connus connus) et des domaines où notre compréhension du perfectionnisme multidimensionnel et de ses conséquences (les connus inconnus) est lacunaire. Les données indiquent que les dimensions de base des traits et des modèles comportementaux du perfectionnisme établis par Hewitt et Flett (1991) et Frost et al. (1990), respectivement, ne sont jamais relevées ni reprises par d'autres indicateurs bien établis. En fait, ces dimensions du perfectionnisme semblent représenter les facteurs de vulnérabilité de base qui sont intimement reliés au développement et au maintien d'une vaste gamme de comportements inadaptés. Public Significance Statement Perfectionism is a personality style consisting of six major components: Self-oriented perfectionism (requiring perfection from the self), socially prescribed perfectionism (the belief that others require perfection from the self), other-oriented perfectionism (requiring perfection from others), personal standards (setting unattainable standards), concern over mistakes, and doubts about actions. This article reviews 30 years of research showing that these perfectionism components are related to various negative psychological, interpersonal, and physical health consequences in people of all ages. Therefore, further research must be conducted to improve the prevention and treatment of perfectionism.

This article is based on my address given at the Canadian Psychological Association annual convention in Halifax, Nova Scotia on May 31, 2019. The address was given on the occasion of my receiving the Donald O. Hebb Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology as a Science. In this paper, I will present some of the ideas and work that my colleagues, especially Dr. Gordon Flett and Dr. Samuel Mikail, and I have undertaken in an attempt to gain an understanding of perfectionism, a core vulnerability factor that underscores myriad psychological, physical, relational, and achievement problems. The research and clinical work arising from the work is heavily influenced by my psychodynamic-interpersonal perspective and, generally, includes several major streams of inquiry. These include addressing what perfectionism is; what kinds of distress, dysfunction, and disorders perfectionism is associated with; how perfectionism develops and how it works in producing difficulties; and finally, the development, refinement, and evaluation of a dynamic-relational psychotherapeutic approach for treating perfectionistic behaviour. I discuss briefly what we learned in this process both in terms of perfectionism and in terms of attempting to understand a complex and multifarious personality vulnerability factor. Finally, I conclude with briefly acknowledging and describing some of the gifted Canadian researchers across the country who have also been captivated with understanding perfectionism and who have added significantly to our understanding of the construct. Public Significance Statement This paper provides a review of the perfectionism research, models, and treatment approaches developed by Drs. Paul L. Hewitt, Gordon L. Flett, and Sam Mikail and colleagues. It outlines four streams of research and conceptual work done on perfectionism, a core vulnerability factor in psychological and physical health outcomes as well as relationship, achievement, and treatment outcome problems. Cet article vise à étoffer l'allocution que j'ai prononcée au congrès annuel de la Société canadienne de psychologie, à Halifax, en Nouvelle-Écosse, le 31 mai 2019, lorsqu'on m'a décerné le Prix Donald O. Hebb pour contributions remarquables à la psychologie en tant que science. J'y présente quelques idées de mes collègues, en particulier Gordon Flett et Samuel Mikail, et de moi-même ainsi que les travaux que nous avons entrepris afin de mieux comprendre le perfectionnisme, un important facteur de vulnérabilité associé à une foule de difficultés psychologiques, physiques, relationnelles et de réalisation. Il convient de souligner que ma perspective fondée sur des pratiques interpersonnelles et psychodynamiques a grandement influencé la recherche et les travaux cliniques découlant de notre démarche, qui comporte de façon générale plusieurs grands axes de recherche. Ces axes comprennent la conceptualisation du perfectionnisme; la détermination des types de détresse, de dysfonctionnement et de trouble associés au perfectionnisme; la façon dont le perfectionnisme se manifeste et les mécanismes par lesquels il crée des difficultés; enfin, la mise au point, le perfectionnement et l'évaluation d'une approche psychothérapeutique relationnelle dynamique pour traiter le comportement perfectionniste. J'aborde également de façon sommaire les connaissances que nous avons acquises sur le perfectionnisme, mais aussi ce que nous a appris notre démarche visant à comprendre un facteur de vulnérabilité lié à la personnalité qui est complexe et multidimensionnel. Enfin, je conclus en soulignant le travail de chercheurs canadiens de talent de partout au pays qui, comme nous, ont été captivés par l'étude du perfectionnisme et nous ont grandement aidés à comprendre le concept.

Perfectionistic self-presentation is proposed as a deleterious interpersonal style that has an influence in clinical contexts that involves promoting a public image of perfection and avoiding displays and self-disclosures of imperfections. A sample of 90 clinical patients taking part in a clinical interview were assessed in terms of their levels of perfectionistic self-presentation and trait perfectionism and their affective, cognitive, and physiological reactions. Perfectionistic self-presentation dimensions were associated with (1) greater distress before and after the interview, (2) negative expectations and greater threat prior to the interview, and (3) post-interview dissatisfaction. Analyses of physiological data found that perfectionistic self-presentation was associated with higher levels of heart rate when discussing past mistakes, and, as expected, the need to avoid disclosing imperfections predicted higher levels of and greater change in heart rate when discussing past mistakes. Analyses that controlled for trait perfectionism and emotional distress showed that the need to avoid disclosing imperfections was a unique predictor of (1) appraisals of the interviewer as threatening before the interview and as dissatisfied after the interview; (2) negative pre and post self-evaluations of performance; and (3) greater change in heart rate when discussing mistakes. Perfectionistic self-presentation is discussed as an interpersonal style that can influence therapeutic alliance and treatment success.

The present study examined trait perfectionism, automatic perfectionistic thoughts, rumination, worry, and depressive symptoms in early adolescents. A group of 81 elementary school students in Grades 7 and 8 completed 5 questionnaires: the Child-Adolescent Perfectionism Scale, the Perfectionism Cognitions Inventory, the Children’s Response Styles Questionnaire, the Penn State Worry Questionnaire for Children, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. The correlational results revealed associations between both trait perfectionism and perfectionistic automatic thoughts and the indices of depression and worry. Rumination was associated with perfectionistic automatic thoughts, self-oriented perfectionism, depression, and worry. Tests of mediation indicated that rumination mediated the association between perfectionism and depressive symptoms, thus highlighting the role of maladaptive forms of cognitive reactivity in perfectionism. The findings suggested that perfectionistic children and youth are at-risk due to cognitive vulnerabilities and they should benefit from programs focused jointly on reducing perfectionism, associated cognitive tendencies, and susceptibility to depression and worry.

The current study examined the associations among dimensions of perfectionism, coping, social support, and depression in 58 adolescents with a history of maltreatment. Participants completed the Child-Adolescent Perfectionism, multidimensional measures of coping and social support, and the CES-D Depression Scale. Correlational analyses showed that depression was associated with socially prescribed perfectionism, internalized emotion-oriented coping, avoidant-oriented distancing, and low family support and peer support. Analyses of coping responses and perfectionism established links between self-oriented perfectionism and internalized emotion-oriented coping responses and self-reliant problem-solving. Socially prescribed perfectionism was associated with avoidance-oriented coping (i.e., distancing). While self-oriented perfectionism and social support were unrelated, socially prescribed perfectionism was associated with reduced levels of family support. Collectively, the findings highlight the roles of poor coping and social support as contributors to the emotional distress experienced by maltreated adolescents. Moreover, it is suggested that the distress experienced by perfectionistic youth with a history of maltreatment reflects, in part, the role of maladaptive coping styles and coping resource deficits. Our findings support further consideration of personality dimensions such as perfectionism as contributors to poor functioning among maltreated youth.

The consequences of demanding perfection of oneself are hotly debated, with researchers typically arguing for either the adaptiveness or the maladaptiveness of this trait. Research informing this debate involves mainly psychiatric patients, undergraduates, and self-report data, suggesting a need to broaden this relatively narrow evidence base. The present study examines self-oriented perfectionism (i.e., demanding perfection of oneself), conscientiousness, socially prescribed perfectionism, neuroticism, and research productivity in psychology professors. Self-oriented perfectionism was negatively related to total number of publications, number of first-authored publications, number of citations, and journal impact rating, even after controlling for competing predictors (e.g., conscientiousness). Self-oriented perfectionism may represent a form of counterproductive overstriving that limits research productivity amongst psychology professors. Although self-oriented perfectionism is often labeled as adaptive, such statements may be overly general. Les conséquences d'exiger la perfection de la part de quelqu'un sont chaudement débattues, les chercheurs argumentant typiquement en faveur de l'adaptabilité ou de l'inadaptabilité de ce trait. Les recherches à propos de ce débat impliquent principalement des patients psychiatriques, des étudiants de premier cycle universitaire et des données auto-rapportés, ce qui fait ressortir le besoin d'élargir cette base de données relativement étroite. La présente étude porte sur le perfectionnisme orienté vers soi (c.-à-d., exiger la perfection de soi-même), le caractère consciencieux, le perfectionnisme socialement prescrit, le névrosisme et la recherche de productivité auprès de professeurs de psychologie. Le perfectionnisme orienté vers soi était relié négativement au nombre total de publications, au nombre de publications comme premier auteur, au nombre de citations et au facteur d'impact des revues, même après avoir contrôlé pour l'effet de prédicteurs concurrents (par ex., le caractère consciencieux). Le perfectionnisme orienté vers soi pourrait représenter une forme improductive d'acharnement au travail qui limite la productivité en recherche chez les professeurs de psychologie. Même si le perfectionnisme orienté vers soi est souvent considéré comme étant adaptatif, une telle approche pourrait être trop générale.

The current study examined the associations among dimensions of perfectionism, facets of stress reactivity, and self-reported depressive symptoms in 191 university students. Participants completed the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, the Perfectionism Cognitions Inventory, the Perceived Stress Reactivity Scale (PSRS), and a measure of depressive symptoms. The PSRS is a relatively new instrument that measures several distinguishable facets of stress reactivity including prolonged stress reactivity, reactivity to failure, and reactivity to social evaluation. Analyses confirmed that most of the perfectionism measures were associated with stress reactivity to failure experiences. Socially prescribed perfectionism and perfectionistic automatic thoughts were also associated with prolonged stress reactivity and reactivity to social evaluation. Moreover, all facets of stress reactivity were correlated with depressive symptoms. Finally, prolonged stress reactivity and reactivity to social evaluation mediated the links between perfectionism dimensions and depressive symptoms. The current findings provide general support for models of perfectionism and stress, and suggest that perfectionists have heightened sensitivities to stressors related to their self-definitions that are activated when threatening stressors involving these themes are experienced.

Converging evidence indicates that the high prevalence of perfectionism and associated pressures to be perfect among adolescents constitute a growing societal problem, especially given concerns about the mental health of young people. This qualitative study sought to understand how adolescent perfectionists recruited from the community define and think about perfectionism. Semistructured interviews were completed with 46 self-identified adolescent perfectionists (Mage = 16.33 years, SD = 1.93; 44 females, 2 males). Analyses yielded new key insights about how adolescent perfectionists define and think about perfectionism. Themes that emerged confirmed the multidimensionality of perfectionism and associated self-evaluative, self-presentational, and cognitive tendencies. Unique themes included the role of social comparison and the commitment to perfectionism despite recognizing the costs. The picture that emerged from this work is that perfectionism is exceptionally complex at the construct level and has elements that account for the heterogeneity that exists among adolescents who all share the self-identified label of being \"a perfectionist.\" Most notably, this work highlights the importance of understanding the need to be perfect and how perfectionism goes well beyond striving for excellence. The implications of this work are considered in terms of assessment, prevention, and practice. Des preuves convergentes indiquent que la forte prévalence du perfectionnisme et les pressions associées pour être parfait chez les adolescents constituent un problème sociétal croissant, en particulier compte tenu des préoccupations concernant la santé mentale des jeunes. Cette étude qualitative visait à comprendre comment les adolescents perfectionnistes recrutés dans la communauté définissent le perfectionnisme et ce qu'ils en pensent. Des entretiens semi-structurés ont été menés auprès de 46 adolescents perfectionnistes auto-identifiés (Âge médian = 16,33 ans, É.-T. = 1,93 ; 44 filles, 2 garçons). Les analyses ont permis de dégager de nouvelles idées clés sur la façon dont les adolescents perfectionnistes définissent le perfectionnisme et ce qu'ils en pensent. Les thèmes qui ont émergé ont confirmé la multidimensionnalité du perfectionnisme et des tendances associées d'auto-évaluation, d'autoprésentation et de cognition. Parmi les thèmes uniques, on trouve le rôle de la comparaison sociale et l'engagement envers le perfectionnisme malgré la reconnaissance des coûts. L'image qui ressort de ces travaux est que le perfectionnisme est exceptionnellement complexe au niveau des constructions et possède des éléments qui expliquent l'hétérogénéité qui existe parmi les adolescents qui partagent l'étiquette de « perfectionniste ». Plus particulièrement, ce travail souligne l'importance de comprendre le besoin d'être parfait et comment le perfectionnisme va bien au-delà de la recherche de l'excellence. Les implications de ces travaux sont considérées en matière d'évaluation, de prévention et de pratique. Public Significance Statement In this study, 46 teenage perfectionists provided detailed descriptions of what perfectionism means to them in their own words. Findings illustrated that the label of being \"a perfectionist\" is not one-size-fits-all for teens, such that teenagers identified 11 different characteristics of perfectionism. Results of this study also underscored the importance of understanding that perfectionism goes well beyond striving for excellence and is instead experienced by teens as a compulsive need to be absolutely flawless.

Parental factors, including pathological narcissism, a maladaptive form of personality style which is characterized by pronounced interpersonal problems, may confer vulnerability to children’s experiences of depression. However, the mechanisms underlying this risk remain largely unexplored. Our longitudinal study assessed whether parent pathological narcissism is associated with childhood depression 1 year later and whether this association is influenced by child attachment and perspective taking. In 59 parent-child dyads, parents reported levels of pathological narcissism, and children reported their levels of depression, attachment and social perspective taking at baseline and 1 year later. Parent pathological narcissism was positively associated with later child depression, anxious and avoidant attachment, and perspective taking. Additionally, parental pathological narcissism had a direct effect on later child depression and an indirect effect through child anxious attachment while controlling for earlier child depression. The association between parent pathological narcissism, and child depression appears to operate through children’s anxious attachment, highlighting a potential mechanism of intergenerational transmission of psychological risk.

In this study, we sought to examine associations between dimensions of trait perfectionism and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among a community sample of adults who experienced at least one traumatic event and determine whether the associations between trait perfectionism dimensions and PTSD symptomatology varied as a function of perceived control. A sample of 161 (57% women; M  = 33.24 years, SD = 10.84 years) community adults who experienced at least one traumatic event in their lives completed self-report measures of trait perfectionism, perceived control, personality, and PTSD symptomatology. Results from multiple regression analyses indicated that socially prescribed perfectionism was associated with higher levels of PTSD symptomatology. However, this finding was qualified by a significant interaction with perceived control such that higher levels of socially prescribed perfectionism were associated with greater PTSD symptomatology only under conditions of low perceived control. Findings underscore the importance of individual differences in socially prescribed perfectionism and perceived control for PTSD symptomatology.