Perfectionism and academic achievement in a sample of children from a regular school program context

International audiencePerfectionism is a multidimensional construct conceptualized as an excessive need in meeting high standards, striving for flawlessness and harsh self-criticism. Past studies have shown that positive perfectionism is related to a better school performance whereas negative perfectionism is often associated with social and emotional difficulties such as anxiety, depression and lower self-esteem. The current study investigated the associations between negative perfectionism and the performance in reading, mathematics and IQ performance in children from regular classroom who are applying to an international schooling program. Correlation analyses show that a high score on the negative perfectionism scale is related to a lower performance in mathematics, reading and on three IQ subscale tests. These results are important since negative perfectionism seem to affect negatively the performance in mathematics and in reading and thus may lead to negative long term outcomes such as drop out. These findings highlight the significance of developing the research on perfectionism and the importance of prevention and intervention among children