Personal and Familial Aspects of Perfectionism in Latino/a Students

Abstract

This study investigated the relevance of both personal and familial aspects of perfectionism for Latino college students. The participants were 207 Latino college students (76% women, 24% men; M age = 21.13 years). Psychometric evaluations of the Almost Perfect Scale-Revised (APS-R) and Family Almost Perfect Scale (FAPS) provide promising support of their cultural validity for Latino students. Patterns of how personal and family dimensions of perfectionism associate with psychological measures of depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and self-esteem generally replicated past studies with other cultural groups. Participants in the study were classified into three different types of perfectionists as well as three perceived types of perfectionistic families. These groups were compared on the psychological indicators of depression, anxiety, and self-esteem (η 2 = .06-.19). Counseling and cultural implications for Latino students with the focus on positive and negative aspects of perfectionism as well as future research directions are discussed.

Psychological well-being, life satisfaction, and self-esteem among adaptive perfectionists, maladaptive perfectionists, and nonperfectionists

“…Although this result contradicts some previous findings from studies mainly conducted in Western cultures which found adaptive perfectionists to have higher levels of self-esteem (Grzegorek et al, 2004;Mobley et al, 2005), it is consistent with the findings from Lee and Park (2011) and Ortega et al (2014). It is worth noting that (a) both the present study and Lee and Park's (2011) study are based on samples with similar characteristics (i.e., Korean college students) and the same measure of perfectionism (i.e., F-MPS), and (b) in Ortega et al's study (2014), this finding with Latino college students emerged when both personal and familial perfectionism were considered.…”

“…health functioning. Poor psychological health of maladaptive perfectionists as well as the absence of illness of adaptive perfectionists has been consistently supported by maladaptive perfectionists' significantly higher levels of depression and anxiety than adaptive perfectionists and nonperfectionists (Grzegorek et al, 2004;Mobley et al, 2005;Ortega, Wang, Slaney, Hayes, & Morales, 2014;Rice & Slaney, 2002). However, evidence for the presence of positive psychological functioning of adaptive perfectionists remains unclear and limited in scope.…”

“…For example, compared to nonperfectionists and maladaptive perfectionists, adaptive perfectionists were reported to have higher levels of self-esteem (Grzegorek et al, 2004;Mobley et al, 2005;Rice & Slaney, 2002), but in some studies, adaptive perfectionists and nonperfectionists had similar levels of self-esteem (Lee & Park, 2011;Ortega et al, 2014). Many studies failed to find significant differences in the self-reported GPA across the three groups (Grzegorek et al, 2004;Mobley et al, 2005;Rice & Slaney, 2002).…”

Examining legalism, scrupulosity, family perfectionism, and psychological adjustment among LDS individuals

“…Family perfectionism includes adaptive and maladaptive aspects that are parallel to personal perfectionism. Having higher family standards has been associated with higher self-esteem (Wang, 2010), and family discrepancy has been linked with depressive and anxiety symptoms (Ortega, Wang, Slaney, Hayes, & Morales, 2014). In addition, family discrepancy has been linked to suicidal risks, serving as a moderator that intensifies the positive associations between interpersonal risk factors (i.e., perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness) and suicide ideation (Wang, Wong, & Fu, 2013).…”

Interpersonal risk factors, shame, and depression among Asian Americans: A longitudinal study of perfectionistic family discrepancy and self-compassion as moderators

“…Recently, researchers have begun to describe and operationally define family influences on perfectionism with respect to racial/ethnic minority individuals' experiences (e.g., DiBartolo & Rendón, 2012; Ortega, Wang, Slaney, Hayes, & Morales, 2014;Wang, 2010). Preliminary studies conducted with Asian Americans addressed the influence of parenting styles and parental expectations on perfectionism and negative psychological outcomes.…”