Perfectionism, Prolonged Stress Reactivity, and Depression: A Two-Wave Cross-Lagged Analysis

Abstract

Perfectionism is a vulnerability factor for a wide array of psychopathology. Despite much evidence suggesting dysregulated stress response as an intermediary process that links perfectionism to psychopathology, the lack of a cross-lagged examination deterred researchers from making causal interpretations. This study examined the directionality of effects among perfectionism dimensions, stress reactivity, and depression. A total of 189 participants at time 1 and 94 at time 2 completed an online survey that consisted of measures of perfectionism, stress reactivity, and depression, one month apart. Cross-lagged analysis results showed that personal standards perfectionism predicted later prolonged stress reactivity but not depression at time 2. Self-critical perfectionism predicted later depression but not prolonged stress reactivity at time 2. Rather, prolonged stress reactivity at time 1 predicted selfcritical perfectionism at time 2. Findings suggest that perfectionism dimensions are distinct in creating a dysregulated stress process. Future studies could incorporate other stress-related variables (e.g., coping) to further explicate the stress-generation process, in conjunction with stress reactivity.

Characteristics of Students’ Burnout and Perfectionism in China and Russia

“…In medical psychology, perfectionism and hostility are considered as personal factors of depressive and anxiety disorders (Abdollahi, Hosseinian and Asmundson, 2018;Dunkley et al, 2020;Suh et al, 2022;Fernández-García et al, 2022). According to the results of studies conducted under the guidance of N.G.…”

How Are Different Perfectionism Traits Related to Mental Health in Students?

“…Considering the role of perfectionism in an educational context, recent meta-analyses have supported that parental expectations and parental criticism have increased within the last three decades [ 9 ], highlighting the rising role of perfectionism among students. The theoretical and empirical support of a link between perfectionism and stress was presented in past works (e.g., Achtziger and Bayer [ 10 ], Suh et al [ 11 ]), including studies among university students [ 12 ]. For example, Gil et al [ 12 ] noted a significant positive correlation between perfectionism (a total score of perfectionistic concerns and perfectionistic strivings) and academic stress, with worry and rumination acting as mediators in the association between academic stress and symptoms of anxiety and depression.…”