Date of Award
Spring 2004
Document Type
Dissertation - Restricted
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Educational Policy and Leadership
First Advisor
Bardwell, Rebecca
Second Advisor
Fox, Robert
Third Advisor
Anderson, Rebecca
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore maladaptive (unhealthy) perfectionism and it's relationship to anxiety, depression, self-esteem, and internalized shame in clinical patients. This study may also provide information that may be of future use in diagnosis for patients with high levels of unhealthy perfectionism. The patients were all selected from an Outpatient Behavioral Health Department at a Midwestern Hospital in the U.S. Out of a random sample of 470 patients, 155 perfectionists volunteered to complete all testing. Each participant completed the Almost Perfect Scale-Revised, The State-Trait Anxiety Scale, Beck Depression Inventory and Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory. The following information was of special interest to the author: (1) the high correlation of perfectionism and internalized shame; (2) which predictors ameliorate maladaptive perfectionism. All of the variables of anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and internal shame correlated significantly with maladaptive perfectionism. State anxiety; depression and trait anxiety correlated the highest as predictor variables for maladaptive perfectionism.