Perfectionism, Type D personality, and illness-related coping styles in cardiac rehabilitation patients

Abstract

This study investigated the associations among trait perfectionism, perfectionistic self-presentation, Type D personality, and illness-specific coping styles in 100 cardiac rehabilitation patients. Participants completed the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, the Perfectionistic Self-Presentation Scale, the Type D Scale-14, and the Coping with Health Injuries and Problems Scale. Correlational analyses established that emotional preoccupation coping was associated with trait perfectionism, perfectionistic self-presentation, and Type D personality. Perfectionism was linked with both facets of the Type D construct (negative emotionality and social inhibition). Our results suggest that perfectionistic Type D patients have maladaptive coping with potential negative implications for their cardiac rehabilitation outcomes.

Is procrastination a vulnerability factor for hypertension and cardiovascular disease? Testing an extension of the procrastination–health model

“…In addition, the moderated mediation analyses revealed the associations of procrastination with behavioral disengagement coping and self-blame coping were significantly stronger in participants with HT/CVD compared to healthy controls. This latter finding echoes those from other research which found that a related trait, perfectionism, was associated with maladaptive coping responses among cardiac rehabilitation patients (Shanmugasegaram et al, 2013). Although the indirect effects of procrastination through PROCRASTINATION, HYPERTENSION, AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE 18 maladaptive coping on the practice of health behaviors were non-significant, the significant moderated indirect effects on perceived stress provided preliminary support for the hypothesis that the maladaptive coping associated with trait procrastination is particularly harmful for individuals with HT/CVD.…”

The relationship between perfectionistic self-presentation and reactions to impairment and disability following spinal cord injury

“…However, trait perfectionism has been found to be positively related to this form of emotion regulation (e.g., Bergman et al 2007) and it is likely this is the case for PSP. PSP has, however, been found to be associated with emotional preoccupation in the context of CID and, again, this is associated with poor adaptation to CID (Flett et al, 2011;Shanmugasegaram et al, 2014). One can envisage how the habitual use of a combination of these two forms of emotion regulation may inhibit the proper processing of reactions such as shock and internal anger and how they may allow a sense of depression to develop and endure over time.…”

“…This includes examining whether perfectionism predicts the experiences of those with various CID (e.g., Flett et al, 2011;Molnar, Flett, Sadava & Colautti, 2012;Shanmugasegaram et al, 2014). This research has almost exclusively focused on trait perfectionism.…”

“…Of the two studies to date, the first examined the relationship between PSP, other personality characteristics (trait perfectionism, optimism, and neuroticism), health-related coping, and the physical and psychosocial impact of CID among individuals with irritable bowel syndrome (Flett et al, 2011). The second examined the relationship between PSP, other personality characteristics (trait perfectionism and type D personality), and health-related coping among cardiac rehabilitation patients (Shanmugasegaram et al, 2014). In both studies PSP was related to coping strategies considered less conducive to psychosocial adaptation (e.g., emotional preoccupation).…”

Perfectionism in Health and Illness from a Person-Focused, Historical Perspective

“…Contemporary research on how perfectionists cope with cardiac illness is now emerging (Dunkley et al, 2012;Shanmugasegaram et al, 2014), and this research has its roots in work conducted over 60 years ago on hypertension and cardiovascular illness. Alexander's (1939) case account of a man with hypertension was noted earlier.…”