Negatives Of Perfectionism

2.0. Introduction

In this section a background is offered on the variables of the present study which are under study including perfectionism, self -efficacy, anxiety, and social connectedness.

2.1. Perfectionism Recently, perfectionism has been considered a multidimensional construct consisting of positive and negative aspects. Moreover, empirical data has provided evidence to suggest that various adaptive and maladaptive indicators are strongly associated with different forms of perfectionism. Unfortunately, while a myriad of studies have examined the relationship between perfectionism and a variety of psychological and psycho-educational correlates among adults, only little is known about children and teenagers. Given

Among the smaller group of studies that try to explore both negative and positive aspects of perfectionism, results have produced valuable data that significantly separate perfectionists across intrapersonal indicators such as life satisfaction, depression, and well-being (Gilman & Ashby, 2003a; Parker, 1997; Stoeber&Rambow, 2007). The notion that perfectionism can actuallylead to healthy functioning and positive outcomes encourages researchers to further peer into its impact and potential value on academic functioning. This knowledge may serve to guide future researchers and practitioners on methods in which tospot and avoid maladaptive aspects of perfectionism while enhancing its productive qualities. This is particularly poignant if striving for perfection can count as a facet of the healthy pursuit of excellence (Shafran, Cooper, & Fairburn,

Terms such as positive striving/negative evaluative concerns (Frost, Hemberg,Holt, Mattia, &Neubauer, 1993), neurotic/normal (Rice et al., 1996), dysfunctional/functional (Rheaume et al., 2000), negative/positive (Slaney et al., 2002;Terry-Short et al., 1995), and maladaptive/adaptive (Rice &Mirzadeh, 2000; Suddarth &Slaney, 2001) are merely some examples of the tremendous variation existing within the current research climate. In contrast, the dimension of perfectionistic concerns comprises those facets of perfectionism that are considered neurotic, unhealthy, or maladaptive—such as excessive concern over errors and hesitations about actions, socially prescribed perfectionism, perceived pressure to be perfect, feelings of discrepancy between expectations and results, and negative reactions to imperfections and has shown close correlations with negative characteristics, processes, and results (see Stoeber& Otto, 2006 for a comprehensive