The average distance between item values: A novel approach for estimating internal consistency

This article presents a method for assessing the internal consistency of scales that works equally well with short and long scales, namely, the average proportional distance. The method provides information on the average distance between item scores for a particular scale. In this article, we sought to demonstrate how this relatively simple statistic could be calculated and present examples that show its advantage over traditional methods. Simulation and empirical tests were conducted to establish standards for the average proportional distance of scores. The implications for test construction are discussed with a particular emphasis on the advantages of developing shorter scales for psychological and educational research.Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC

Perfectionism and training distress in junior athletes: A longitudinal investigation

Perfectionistic athletes may train harder and for longer than non-perfectionistic athletes, leaving them susceptible to elevated levels of training distress. So far, however, no study has investigated the relationships between perfectionism and training distress, a key indicator of overtraining syndrome. Furthermore, no study has determined psychological predictors of overtraining syndrome. Using a two-wave design, the present study examined perfectionistic strivings, perfectionistic concerns, and training distress in 141 junior athletes (mean age 17.3 years, range 16-19 years) over 3 months of active training. Multiple regression analyses were employed to test cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between perfectionism and training distress. In all analyses, perfectionism emerged as a significant predictor, but strivings and concerns showed differential relationships. When the cross-sectional relationships were regarded, perfectionistic concerns positively predicted training distress (p .05). The findings suggest that sports scientists who wish to identify athletes at risk of overtraining syndrome may monitor athletes’ perfectionistic concerns as a possible risk factor

Perfectionism, achievement motives, and attribution of success and failure in female soccer players

While some researchers have identified adaptive perfectionism as a key characteristic to achieving elite performance in sport, others see perfectionism as a maladaptive characteristic that undermines, rather than helps, athletic performance. Arguing that perfectionism in sport contains both adaptive and maladaptive facets, the present article presents a study of N 5 74 female soccer players investigating how two facets of perfectionism—perfectionistic strivings and negative reactions to imperfection (Stoeber, Otto, Pescheck, Becker, & Stoll, 2007)—are related to achievement motives and attributions of success and failure. Results show that striving for perfection was related to hope of success and self-serving attributions (internal attribution of success). Moreover, once overlap between the two facets of perfectionism was controlled for, striving for perfection was inversely related to fear of failure and self-depreciating attributions (internal attribution of failure). In contrast, negative reactions to imperfection were positively related to fear of failure and self-depreciating attributions (external attribution of success) and inversely related to self-serving attributions (internal attribution of success and external attribution of failure). It is concluded that striving for perfection in sport is associated with an adaptive pattern of positive motivational orientations and self-serving attributions of success and failure, which may help athletic performance. In contrast, negative reactions to imperfection are associated with a maladaptive pattern of negative motivational orientations and self-depreciating attributions, which is likely to undermine athletic performance. Consequently, perfectionism in sport may be adaptive in those athletes who strive for perfection, but can control their negative reactions when performance is less than perfect

Perfectionism and achievement goals in young Finnish ice-hockey players aspiring to make the Under-16 national team

Research on perfectionism suggests that is it useful to differentiate between perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns. Regarding the 2 x 2 achievement goal framework, the usefulness of this differentiation was recently demonstrated in a study with university student athletes (Stoeber, Stoll, Pescheck, & Otto, 2008, Study 2), in which it was found that perfectionistic strivings were associated with mastery-approach and performance-approach goals and perfectionistic concerns with mastery-avoidance, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goals. Because the study was largely exploratory and only used non-elite athletes, the aim of the present research was to replicate and extend these findings by investigating a sample of 138 young, elite ice-hockey players, while adding further measures of perfectionism and using structural equation modelling (SEM) to confirm the relationships between perfectionistic strivings, perfectionistic concerns,and the 2 x 2 achievement goals. The SEM results showed that, in elite athletes also, perfectionistic strivings are associated with mastery-approach and performance-approach goals, whereas perfectionistic concerns are associated with masteryavoidance, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goals. Our findings corroborate the importance of differentiating between perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns when studying perfectionism in sports, because only perfectionistic concerns (and not perfectionistic strivings) are associated with maladaptive patterns of achievement goals

The Big Three Perfectionism Scale: A new measure of perfectionism

This article introduces a new measure of dispositional perfectionism: the Big Three Perfectionism Scale (BTPS). The BTPS assesses three higher-order global factors (rigid perfectionism, self-critical perfectionism, narcissistic perfectionism) via 10 lower-order perfectionism facets (self-oriented perfectionism, self-worth contingencies, concern over mistakes, doubts about actions, self-criticism, socially prescribed perfectionism, other-oriented perfectionism, hypercriticism, grandiosity, entitlement). The present investigation examined the structure of the BTPS using exploratory factor analysis in Study 1 (288 undergraduates), and confirmatory factor analyses in Study 2 (352 community adults) and Study 3 (290 undergraduates). Additionally, in Study 3 the relationships among the BTPS, other measures of perfectionism, and the five-factor model of personality were investigated. Overall, findings provide first evidence for the reliability and validity of the BTPS as a multidimensional measure of perfectionism

Perfectionism and self-conscious emotions in British and Japanese students: Predicting pride and embarrassment after success and failure

Regarding self-conscious emotions, studies have shown that different forms of perfectionism show different relationships with pride, shame, and embarrassment depending on success and failure. What is unknown is whether these relationships also show cultural variations. Therefore, we conducted a study investigating how self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism predicted pride and embarrassment after success and failure comparing 363 British and 352 Japanese students. Students were asked to respond to a set of scenarios where they imagined achieving either perfect (success) or flawed results (failure). In both British and Japanese students, self-oriented perfectionism positively predicted pride after success and embarrassment after failure whereas socially prescribed perfectionism predicted embarrassment after success and failure. Moreover, in Japanese students, socially prescribed perfectionism positively predicted pride after success and self-oriented perfectionism negatively predicted pride after failure. The findings have implications for our understanding of perfectionism indicating that the perfectionism–pride relationship not only varies between perfectionism dimensions, but may also show cultural variations

Patient perfectionism and clinician impression formation during an initial interview

Objectives: The negative impact of pre-treatment patient perfectionism on therapeutic alliance and outcomes has been well-documented. However, there is much to learn about how patient perfectionism impacts the development of the therapeutic alliance. Our study addressed this by examining the extent to which trait and self-presentational components of perfectionism influence clinician’s perceptions of patients during an initial interview. Design: We recruited 90 treatment-seeking adults (aged 19-64, Mage=36.2; 40 men) from outpatient mental health clinics. Each patient had a one-on-one, semi-structured interview with a clinician that lasted 50 minutes. Method: Patients completed self-report measures assessing trait perfectionism, perfectionistic self-presentation, and symptom distress before the interview. Patients were then invited to discuss reasons for seeking treatment and to reflect on the two most challenging situations in their lives in which they had not coped well. Following the interview, clinicians indicated their overall impressions of patients by responding to three self-report questions and rated patients’ distress and hostility via nine adjectives. Results: After controlling for patients’ symptom distress, other-oriented perfectionism and nondisplay of imperfection had small positive relationships with clinician-rated hostility; self-oriented perfectionism, socially prescribed perfectionism and non-disclosure of imperfection had small-to-moderate negative relationships with clinician impressions. Additionally, path analysis revealed other-oriented perfectionism and non-display of imperfection indirectly predicted less favourable clinician impressions through clinician-rated hostility. Conclusions: Findings highlight the importance of evaluating and addressing trait and self-presentation components of perfectionism early in the therapeutic process

The Existential Model of Perfectionism and Depressive Symptoms: Testing a moderated mediation model in community adults using a one-month two-wave longitudinal design.

The existential model of perfectionism and depressive symptoms (EMPDS) posits difficulties accepting the past (i.e., viewing past experiences as incoherent, dissatisfying, and meaningless) explains when and why socially prescribed perfectionism (i.e., perceiving others as requiring perfection of the self) confers risk for depressive symptoms. However, excessive use of cross-sectional designs, an over-reliance on undergraduate samples, and a lack of research testing moderated mediation have limited understanding of the EMPDS. We addressed these limitations by conducting the first longitudinal moderated mediation test of the EMPDS in community adults (N = 265). Congruent with the EMPDS, results revealed socially prescribed perfectionism indirectly predicted increased depressive symptoms onemonth later through difficulties accepting the past and that socially prescribed perfectionism moderated this indirect effect. Overall, findings lend credence and coherence to the EMPDS and suggest that socially prescribed perfectionism both generates difficulties accepting the past and intensifies the influence that these difficulties have on depressive symptoms

Perfectionism and psychological distress: A modeling approach to understanding their therapeutic relationship

The present study assessed the effectiveness of a web-based psychoeducational intervention protocol for decreasing levels of perfectionism and psychological distress. Different levels of therapeutic intervention (no treatment, general stress management intervention, general stress management intervention plus cognitive behavioral intervention) were provided to perfectionistic participants over a 10-week period. It was found via a longitudinal structural equation model that higher levels of therapeutic intervention predicted greater improvements in perfectionism and psychological distress. Further, amount of improvement in trait perfectionism and perfectionistic automatic thoughts was highly related to amount of improvement in psychological distress. The findings attest to the potential usefulness of a web-based intervention that combines a general stress management intervention with a cognitive behavioral intervention.Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC