Perfectionism in adolescents: Self-critical perfectionism as a predictor of depressive symptoms across the school year

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelby L. Levine ◽  
Isabelle Green-Demers ◽  
Marina Milyavskaya ◽  
Kaitlyn M. Werner
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Cognitive Biases ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
School Students ◽  
Personal Standards ◽  
School Year ◽  
Path Modelling ◽  
Personal Standards Perfectionism

The present study examined the influence of personal standards and self-critical perfectionism on depressive and anxiety symptoms over the academic year. High-school students (N=174) were surveyed in the late Fall and early Spring, assessing perfectionism in the Fall and mental health across the year in both the Fall and Spring. Path modelling was used to examine whether self-critical and personal standards perfectionism were related to changes in mental health across the school year. Controlling for mental health at the start of the year, self-critical perfectionism predicted an increase in depressive symptoms over time, whereas personal standards perfectionism was unrelated to changes in mental health. Results support that self-critical perfectionism is detrimental to mental health in adolescents, suggesting that future interventions should focus on reducing self-critical cognitive biases in youth.

Perfectionism in Adolescents: Self-Critical Perfectionism as a Predictor of Depressive Symptoms Across the School Year

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelby L. Levine ◽  
Isabelle Green-Demers ◽  
Kaitlyn M. Werner ◽  
Marina Milyavskaya
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Cognitive Biases ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
School Students ◽  
Personal Standards ◽  
School Year ◽  
Path Modelling ◽  
Personal Standards Perfectionism

Introduction: The present study examined the influence of personal standards and self-critical perfectionism on depressive and anxiety symptoms over the academic year. Methods: High-school students (N = 174) were surveyed in the late Fall and early Spring, assessing perfectionism in the Fall and mental health across the year in both the Fall and Spring. Path modelling was used to examine whether self-critical and personal standards perfectionism were related to changes in mental health across the school year. Results: Controlling for mental health at the start of the year, self-critical perfectionism predicted an increase in depressive symptoms over time, whereas personal standards perfectionism was unrelated to changes in mental health. Discussion: Results support that self-critical perfectionism is detrimental to mental health in adolescents, suggesting that future interventions should focus on reducing self-critical cognitive biases in youth.

Perfectionism in the transition to university: Comparing diathesis-stress and downward spiral models of depressive symptoms

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelby L. Levine ◽  
Marina Milyavskaya
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Personal Standards ◽  
Downward Spiral ◽  
Personal Standards Perfectionism ◽  
Spiral Model ◽  
Diathesis Stress Model

Transitioning to university may be especially difficult for students who expect perfection from themselves. Self-critical perfectionism has consistently been linked to poor mental health. The current study compares a diathesis-stress and a downward spiral model, to determine why self-critical perfectionism is detrimental for mental health during this transition. First-year students (N=658) were recruited prior to beginning university in August and contacted again in October, January, and April. Participants completed measures on perfectionism, stress and depressive symptoms. Evidence was found for a downward spiral model with self-critical perfectionism, but not a diathesis-stress model. Students higher in self-critical perfectionism were more likely to experience increased stress and depressive symptoms in a circular and additive manner. Conversely, students higher in personal standards perfectionism experienced less stress and subsequent depressive symptoms. This research provides a theoretical model for why self-critical perfectionism is related to poor mental health outcomes which become sustained over time.

scholarly journals Emotional intelligence as a moderator between perfectionism and happiness

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abbas Abdollahi ◽  
Simin Hosseinian ◽  
Hannaneh Panahipour ◽  
Mahmoud Najafi ◽  
Fariba Soheili
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
School Students ◽  
Personal Standards ◽  
Evaluative Concerns ◽  
Personal Standards Perfectionism

Happiness plays a key role in influencing adolescent performance in a variety of contexts. The present study was designed to investigate the relationships between perfectionism, emotional intelligence, and happiness and to test the moderating role of emotional intelligence in the relationship between perfectionism and happiness among Malaysian adolescents. The participants were 412 Malaysian high-school students from Selangor, all of whom completed self-report questionnaires. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine whether students with high levels of personal standards perfectionism, low levels of evaluative concerns perfectionism, and high levels of emotional intelligence reported higher levels of happiness. Multigroup analyses showed that emotional intelligence emerged as a significant moderator in the link between evaluative concerns perfectionism and happiness. These findings highlight the importance of emotional intelligence in mitigating the devastating effects of evaluative concerns perfectionism on happiness.

scholarly journals Perfectionism in the Transition to University: Comparing Diathesis-Stress and Downward Spiral Models of Depressive Symptoms

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-64
Author(s):  
Shelby L. Levine ◽  
Marina Milyavskaya ◽  
David C. Zuroff
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Personal Standards ◽  
Downward Spiral ◽  
Personal Standards Perfectionism ◽  
Spiral Model ◽  
Diathesis Stress Model

Transitioning to university may be especially difficult for students who expect perfection from themselves. Self-critical perfectionism has consistently been linked to poor mental health. The current study compares a diathesis-stress and a downward-spiral model to determine why self-critical perfectionism is detrimental for mental health during this transition. First-year students ( N = 658) were recruited before beginning university in August and contacted again in October, January, and April. Participants completed measures on perfectionism, stress, and depressive symptoms. Evidence was found for a downward-spiral model with self-critical perfectionism but not a diathesis-stress model. Students higher in self-critical perfectionism were more likely to experience increased stress and depressive symptoms in a circular and additive manner. Conversely, students higher in personal-standards perfectionism experienced less stress and subsequent depressive symptoms. This research provides a theoretical model for why self-critical perfectionism is related to poor mental-health outcomes that become sustained over time.

scholarly journals Mental health burden of high school students 1.5 years after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Austria

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Dale ◽  
MMag. Dr. Andrea Jesser ◽  
Teresa O´Rourke ◽  
Thomas Probst ◽  
Elke Humer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
School Type ◽  
School Students ◽  
Health Burden

<p>The COVID-19 pandemic and containment efforts seem to be particularly challenging for adolescents. This study assessed mental health in 14- to 20-year-old high school students 1.5 years after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Austria. A cross-sectional survey was carried out from 14<sup>th</sup> September 2021 to 14<sup>th</sup> November 2021. Well-being (WHO-5), depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), anxiety symptoms (GAD-7) and sleep quality (ISI) were assessed. A total of 1505 adolescents participated (77.9% girls). The cut-off for clinically relevant depressive symptoms (i.e., PHQ-9 score, ≥11) was exceeded by 61.9% girls and 38.1% boys and 49.3% girls and 28.8% boys had clinically relevant anxiety symptoms (i.e., GAD-7 score, ≥11). Clinically relevant moderate insomnia (i.e., ISI score, ≥15) was reported by 27.5% girls and 16.7% boys. The prevalence of suicidal ideation (item 9 of the PHQ-9) within the last 2 weeks was 46.8% in girls and 32.0% in boys. These data collected in autumn 2021 (at the start of the second semester of reopened schools; t2) were compared to data collected in February 2021 (one semester after almost exclusively remote schooling; t1). A matched pairs analysis according to age, gender, region, school type and migration background resulted in a total sample size of N = 2514 adolescents (70.1% females). Results showed small reduction in mental health (i.e., well-being, depressive symptoms, insomnia, suicidal ideation) in girls at t2 compared to t1, and an increase in suicidal thoughts in boys (all <i>p</i>-values <0.05). Results suggest that mental health burden in adolescents remained high 1.5 years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight the need to implement timely psychological support. </p>

Characteristics of school-based health services associated with students’ mental health

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Denny ◽  
Hamish Howie ◽  
Sue Grant ◽  
Ross Galbreath ◽  
Jennifer Utter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Health Services ◽  
School Health ◽  
Cluster Randomized Trial ◽  
Well Being ◽  
School Students ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
School Based

Objective School-based health services (SBHS) have been shown to improve access to mental health services but the evidence of their effectiveness on students’ mental health is lacking. Our objective was to examine associations between variation in the provision of SBHS and students’ mental health. Methods A cross-sectional analysis of a nationally representative health and well-being survey of 8500 New Zealand high school students conducted in March–November 2012. Students’ mental health is related to data on school health services obtained from clinic leaders and clinicians from 90 participating high schools. Results After adjustment for socio-demographic differences in students between schools, increasing levels of services were associated with progressively lower levels of student-reported depressive symptoms (p = 0.002), emotional and behavioural difficulties (p = 0.004) and suicidality (p = 0.008). Services with greater levels of nursing hours (p = 0.02) and those that performed routine, comprehensive psychosocial assessments (p = 0.01) were both associated with lower levels of student-reported depressive symptoms. Greater levels of nursing hours and doctor hours were associated with lower self-reported suicidality among students. Conclusions Although a causal association between school-based health services and students’ mental health cannot be demonstrated, these findings support the benefit of such services and the need for a cluster randomized trial.

scholarly journals Mental health burden of high school students 1.5 years after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Austria

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Dale ◽  
MMag. Dr. Andrea Jesser ◽  
Teresa O´Rourke ◽  
Thomas Probst ◽  
Elke Humer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
School Type ◽  
School Students ◽  
Health Burden

<p>The COVID-19 pandemic and containment efforts seem to be particularly challenging for adolescents. This study assessed mental health in 14- to 20-year-old high school students 1.5 years after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Austria. A cross-sectional survey was carried out from 14<sup>th</sup> September 2021 to 14<sup>th</sup> November 2021. Well-being (WHO-5), depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), anxiety symptoms (GAD-7) and sleep quality (ISI) were assessed. A total of 1505 adolescents participated (77.9% girls). The cut-off for clinically relevant depressive symptoms (i.e., PHQ-9 score, ≥11) was exceeded by 61.9% girls and 38.1% boys and 49.3% girls and 28.8% boys had clinically relevant anxiety symptoms (i.e., GAD-7 score, ≥11). Clinically relevant moderate insomnia (i.e., ISI score, ≥15) was reported by 27.5% girls and 16.7% boys. The prevalence of suicidal ideation (item 9 of the PHQ-9) within the last 2 weeks was 46.8% in girls and 32.0% in boys. These data collected in autumn 2021 (at the start of the second semester of reopened schools; t2) were compared to data collected in February 2021 (one semester after almost exclusively remote schooling; t1). A matched pairs analysis according to age, gender, region, school type and migration background resulted in a total sample size of N = 2514 adolescents (70.1% females). Results showed small reduction in mental health (i.e., well-being, depressive symptoms, insomnia, suicidal ideation) in girls at t2 compared to t1, and an increase in suicidal thoughts in boys (all <i>p</i>-values <0.05). Results suggest that mental health burden in adolescents remained high 1.5 years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight the need to implement timely psychological support. </p>

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