Relations of “self-oriented perfectionism” to depression and hopelessness

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to construct a new multidimensional self oriented perfectionism scale (MSPS) and to examine the relationship of self-oriented perfectionism to depression and hopelessness in college students. In Study 1, 26 original items of a new MSPS were administered to 132 students and factor analysis revealed 4 solutions: desire for perfectionism (DP), personal standard (PS), concern over mistakes (CM), and doubting of actions (D). Twenty items of the final MSPS had high reliability and validity as an instrument of measuring self-oriented perfectionism (Hewitt & Flett, 1991). In Study 2, 178 students completed a questionnare consisting of MSPS, stressor scale, depression scale, and hopelessness scale. PS was negatively related to hopelessness, and CM and D were positively related to both depression and hopelessness. Students with high CM scores had higher depression than those with low CM scores, unrelated to the degree of stress.