Emergent themes in the writing of perfectionists: A qualitative study

Abstract

As an initial step toward uncovering the therapeutic potential of expressive writing for treating perfectionism, the current study utilized an emotional writing prompt to penetrate the inner world of 14 maladaptive perfectionists. The major question driving the inquiry was whether informative themes would emerge when perfectionists were prompted to write about their deepest thoughts and feelings. Procedures derived from Consensual Qualitative Research were used to analyze the written text. Results revealed domains labeled Stress, Relationships, Coping, Expectations, Perfectionism, and Academic/Professional Goals. These domains and their respective categories, along with the use of expressive writing, could enrich clinical interventions in treatment studies of perfectionists.

Psychological trajectories of Chinese women undergoing pregnancy termination for foetal abnormality: A descriptive qualitative study using expressive writing

“…The research provides a novel approach for capturing women's concerns by using an expressive writing method. The advantages of expressive writing in qualitative research have also been confirmed in previous studies (Lu et al, 2016;Merrell et al, 2011;Warmoth et al, 2017), and the method was successfully applied in the current study.…”

“…However, expressive writing is a private, instructional method of writing that enables participants to disclose their deepest feelings. Many studies have used expressive writing instead of in-depth interviews to examine participants' experiences (Lu, Yeung, You, & Dai, 2016;Merrell, Hannah, Van Arsdale, Buman, & Rice, 2011;Warmoth, Cheung, You, Yeung, & Lu, 2017). This approach was previously used to explore the thoughts and beliefs of breast cancer survivors and was shown to help participants overcome barriers that typically prevent them from disclosing, including stigma and repression of emotions.…”

Perfectionism and Life Narratives: A Qualitative Study

“…Instead, researchers have either defined perfectionism for the participants (Egan et al, 2013) or focused on auxiliary issues such as achievement goals (Speirs-Neumeister, 2004) or stress and coping (Merrell et al, 2011). Moreover, (Egan et al, 2013;Merrell et al, 2011;Speirs-Neumeister, 2004) and has not compared and contrasted the experiences of adaptive versus maladaptive perfectionists. To address these gaps, the present study asked both adaptive and maladaptive perfectionists to define perfectionism and to describe whether they viewed it as a positive or negative influence in their lives.…”

“…However, dimensions of perfectionism were uncorrelated with themes of communion. Merrell, Hannah, Van Arsdale, Buman, and Rice (2011) conducted a qualitative analysis to assess the thoughts and feelings of 14 maladaptive perfectionists using the consensual research paradigm (Hill et al, 2005;Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997). There were a number of common themes (e.g., stress about perceived academic inadequacy, avoidant coping, interactions with loved ones, and perfectionism) providing insight into how maladaptive perfectionists express their feelings through narrative.…”

“It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times”: A Qualitative Investigation of Perfectionism and Drinking Narratives in Undergraduate Students

“…Qualitative research prioritizes detailed description over numerical analysis—this allows information to be interpreted in context of a holistic lived experience to better understand how a particular phenomenon arises (Maxwell, 2008). This approach has been used effectively, but infrequently, to address important questions in the area of perfectionism (Hill et al., 2015; Merrell, Hannah, Van Arsdale, Buman, & Rice, 2011; Rice, Bair, Castro, Cohen, & Hood, 2003; Riley & Shafran, 2005) and could provide a useful and unique perspective on perfectionism and alcohol use.…”