How do perfectionistic people flourish? The interaction of self-compassion on the association between multidimensional perfectionism and flourishing

Amalfi, Cadie (2020) How do perfectionistic people flourish? The interaction of self-compassion on the association between multidimensional perfectionism and flourishing. Masters by Coursework thesis, Murdoch University.

Abstract

While perfectionism is often considered psychopathological in its clinical nature, researchers have argued that there is a distinction between the adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism manifestations. Given previous literature, self-compassion may be one possible the mechanism by which the association between perfectionism and wellbeing differs between individuals. We aimed to investigate the interaction of self-compassion on the association between multidimensional perfectionism and flourishing. The final 261 participant sample (M = 25.58, SD = 7.31; 197 females, 62 males, 2 others) were recruited from Murdoch University’s participation pool and social media to complete an online survey measuring multidimensional perfectionism, self-compassion, flourishing, and psychological distress. Two moderated hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted in SPSS 26.0. Distress, age, and gender were control variables. For adaptive perfectionism, all predictors accounted for a significant 41.6% of the variance in flourishing (p <.001), with a large effect size (f2 = .72). Self-compassion accounted for significantly more flourishing experiences, sr2 = .06, p < .001, 95% CI [.06, .14] as did adaptive perfectionism sr2 = .13, p < .001, 95% CI [.25, .46]. For maladaptive perfectionism, all predictors could account for a significant 28.3% of the variance in flourishing (p <.001), with a large effect size (f2 = .39). Self-compassion accounted for significantly more flourishing experiences, sr2 = .05, p < .001, 95% CI [.05, .15]. There was no significant interaction between self-compassion and multidimensional perfectionism. The implications of these results are discussed. The main recommendation for future research is to continue to investigate other conditions that may distinguish adaptive and maladaptive perfectionists.

Keywords: adaptive perfectionism, maladaptive perfectionism, self-compassion, flourishing.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters by Coursework)
Murdoch Affiliation(s):	Psychology, Counselling, Exercise Science and Chiropractic
United Nations SDGs:	Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being
Notes:	Note to the author: If you would like to make your thesis openly available on Murdoch University Library's Research Repository, please contact: repository@murdoch.edu.au. Thank you.
Supervisor(s):	UNSPECIFIED
URI:	http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/60856

Item Control Page