Perfectionism, Anxiety, and Depressive Distress: Evidence for the Mediating Role of Negative Automatic Thoughts and Anxiety Sensitivity

Abstract

Abstract.Objective: This study assessed a mediational model in which negative automatic thoughts and anxiety sensitivity were hypothesized to mediate the relationship between perfectionism cognitions and depressive and anxiety symptoms. Participants: Participants were undergraduate students from an urban Canadian university. The data were collected from July 2009 to August 2010. Methods: In a cross-sectional evaluation, 992 undergraduate participants completed questionnaires that assessed perfectionism cognitions, negative automatic thinking, anxiety sensitivity, and anxiety and depressive symptoms. Results: Mediational analysis confirmed the role of anxiety sensitivity and negative automatic thoughts in mediating the association between perfectionistic cognitions, anxiety symptoms, and depressive distress. Furthermore, in line with previous studies, nearly a third of students displayed an elevated prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms. Conclusions: This study further clarified the associations and mediating relationships among mood states associated with perfectionism.

Heart rate variability is enhanced in controls but not maladaptive perfectionists during brief mindfulness meditation following stress-induction: A stratified-randomized trial

“…Furthermore, the PCI has been employed in multiple randomized-controlled trials which have demonstrated that Perfectionists can achieve benefits in depressed and anxious moods (Radhu et al, 2012a) as well as cortical inhibition (Radhu et al, 2012b), by way of cognitive-behavioral therapy and mindfulness practice. Furthermore, the uneven proportion in this study is representative of the typical prevalence found at this university, in which a previous recruit of N = 992 participants yielded N = 248 (~25%) maladaptive perfectionists with the same screening procedure (Pirbaglou et al, 2013).…”

“…"I should never make the same mistake twice" and "I must be efficient at all times") in the previous week on a 5-point Likert scale. The PCI has demonstrated adequate validity and reliability and correlational analyses have revealed strong associations with trait perfectionism, psychological distress, and depressive-anxious symptoms (Flett et al, 2007;Flett et al, 2011;Pirbaglou et al, 2013). Furthermore, there has been no gender difference in mean PCI scores found (Flett et al, 1998).…”

“…Maladaptive perfectionism is a personality construct characterized by a persistent striving for unrealistic personal standards, an excessive concern over mistakes, and an attentional bias for failure Lo and Abbott, 2013). Excessive perfectionistic thinking is consistently associated with chronic stress (Ashby et al, 2012;Flett et al, 1998;Pirbaglou et al, 2013), greater worry and rumination levels (Harris et al, 2008), and psychiatric diagnoses (Antony et al, 1998;Chang and Sanna, 2001;Saboonchi and Lundh, 1997).…”

Cognitive Perfectionism between Substance Addicteds and Non-Addicts

“…In this line, there is strong relationship between stress, anxiety with perfectionism [21]. Pirbaglou et al also in a recent study evaluating 992 undergraduate participants confirmed the role of anxiety sensitivity and negative automatic thoughts in mediating the association between perfectionistic cognitions and anxiety symptoms [22].…”

Control, Communication, and the Voice of the Leader. A Control-Character Analysis of the 2016 US Presidential Debate

“…As it is well known, one of the most useful exercises in cognitive psychotherapy is when the patient is asked to examine his or her automatic thoughts. As research suggest, negative automatic thoughts could affect not just maladaptive ways of thinking, risky behavior (Choon, 2015) but also serious mental diseases as depression (Hjemdal, 2013), anxiety (Pirbaglou et al, 2013), addiction or even adult ADHD (Mitchell et al 2013). If the patient wants to overcome his symptoms, he must learn how to use selfcontrol over automatic associations and thoughts (Gonsarkolare et al, 2010).…”