The Mediating Role of Perfectionism and Defense Mechanisms in The Relationship between Personality Traits and Narcissism

In this study, it is aimed to examine the relationships between perfectionism, defense mechanisms and basic personality traits and vulnerable and grandiose narcissism. Besides, it is aimed to determine the mediating role of defense mechanisms and perfectionism in the relationship between basic personality traits and vulnerable and grandiose narcissism. The sample of the study consists of 403 volunteer participants whose ages are between 18-60. In this study, data were collected by using Demographic Information Form, Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS), Defense Style Questionnaire-40 (DSQ-40), Basic Personality Traits Inventory (BPTI), and Five-Factor Narcissism Inventory-Short Form (FFNI). Among the continuous variables of the study, it was identified that there were correlations ranging from .09 to .50. In addition, according to the mediation (mediator) analysis results, it was revealed that the immature defense group and concern over mistakes had mediation role in the relationship between negative valence, which is one of the basic personality traits and grandiose narcissism; immature defense group and personal standards had mediation role in the relationship between openness to development and grandiose narcissism. Also, it was found that the immature defense group and concern over mistakes had mediation role in the relationship between negative valence and vulnerable narcissism; the immature defense group, concern over mistakes and doubt about actions had mediation role in the relationship between neuroticism and vulnerable narcissism. It has been observed that total four significant models explain 30% to 38% of the variance. In the light of the current results, the evaluation of some personality traits associated with vulnerable and grandiose narcissism and the effect of immatur defenses and perfectionism in this relationship may contribute positively to the understanding and treatment process of narcissistic personal traits. Keywords Grandiose narcissism, vulnerable narcissism, basic personality traits, perfectionism, defense mechanisms

Perfectionism Patterns, Dark Personality, and Exercise Addiction Trend in High-Intensity Sports

The present work tries to describe the relationships among perfectionism, dark traits of personality, and exercise addiction and according to highly intense sports. Following research on perfectionism in sport, its dysfunctional facet is based on a continuous and negative cognitive-evaluative judgement about the difficulties to achieve the accomplishment of tasks or behaviors that improve their sport performance, describing how athletes configure altered thoughts or cognitive resources in their sport experiences. The Spanish versions of the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, the Short Dark Triad Scale, and the Exercise Addiction Inventory were applied in a sample of 462 Spanish amateur athletes (39.6% women and 60.4% men). The findings show that a more maladaptive perfectionist pattern (concern over mistakes and external criticism) is related to higher levels of dark personality traits and a greater risk of exercise addiction. However, there are no differences between runners and CrossFit users on the subject of perfectionism, dark traits, and exercise addiction scores.

Perfectionism, Self-Esteem, and the Will to Win Among Adolescent Athletes: The Effects of the Level of Achievements and Gender

This study examined the relationships between perfectionism, self-esteem, and the will to win and the effects of gender and the level of achievement on these variables. A total of 318 adolescents in the age group of 12–19 years (M = 16.10 ± 1.01) completed the self-esteem questionnaire, the will-to-win questionnaire, and the perfectionism inventory. Interstate level (ISL) athletes obtained higher scores than interdistrict level (IDL) athletes on the following variables: self-esteem, the will to win, and four of the eight dimensions of perfectionism (i.e., concern over mistakes, the need for approval, organization, and planfulness). Further, male athletes obtained higher self-esteem and perfectionism (i.e., the need for approval and rumination) scores than female athletes. Self-esteem, the will to win, and the dimensions of perfectionism were positively and significantly interrelated. However, one dimension, namely, perceived parental pressure, was unrelated to any factor except striving for excellence. Further, the will to win, concern over mistakes, high standard for others, and planfulness were unrelated to striving for excellence. The results of the discriminant analysis revealed that there was no significant difference between ISL and IDL athletes (variance explained = 9.480%). Finally, using path analysis showed that Model 3 (perfectionism self-esteem will-to-win) has provided good model fit such as Bentler's comparative fit index (CFI) (0.987), Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) (0.876), normed fit index (NFI) (0.973), and the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) (0.097).

Evaluation of the factor structure and psychometric properties of the German version of the Clinical Perfectionism Questionnaire: The CPQ-D

Background The aim was to create a German version of the Clinical Perfectionism Questionnaire (CPQ-D) and to test its factor structure, reliability, and validity in a non-clinical population. Method We recruited N = 432 participants via an online panel. The factor structure of CPQ-D was examined. The convergent, discriminative, and incremental validity was assessed in relation to the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS) and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Results Exploratory factor analysis resulted in two factors. Factor 1 represented the over evaluation of striving and Factor 2 was associated to concern over mistakes. Internal consistency was acceptable with ω = .81 for the total score, ω = .77 for Factor 1, and ω = .73 for Factor 2. Convergent, discriminative, and incremental validity was demonstrated. Important to note, Item 12 should be used with caution since it showed low communality and a low item-total correlation and should therefore be further evaluated in future research. Conclusion The results indicate that the German translated version of the CPQ has acceptable internal consistency, convergent, discriminative and incremental validity. Future research should test the CPQ-D scale further in clinical and non-clinical populations and assess a broader variety of scales to determine validity of the scale.

Global Self-Esteem Differentially Predicts Multidimensional Perfectionism in Early Adolescents Two Years Later

Perfectionism is a multidimensional personality trait whose facets differentially relate to indicators of psychological functioning, such as global self-esteem. There has been some theoretical disagreement whether perfectionism affects global self-esteem, or vice versa. This question merits renewed attention due to increasing efforts to prevent the development of maladaptive perfectionism facets in adolescents. In addition, recent research has indicated a role of self-esteem for predicting personality development. This study aimed to clarify the longitudinal relations of multidimensional perfectionism and global self-esteem. A sample of 707 early adolescents participated in two measurement points two years apart. Global self-esteem positively predicted personal standards, negatively predicted doubts about actions, and did not predict concern over mistakes beyond baseline. Perfectionism facets did not longitudinally predict global self-esteem. These findings provide the first evidence for a role of global self-esteem in perfectionism development. Addressing early adolescents’ self-esteem may aid in preventing the development of maladaptive perfectionism facets.

PARENTAL EDUCATIONAL STYLES AS PREDICTORS OF PERFECTIONISM AND QUALITY OF SIBLING RELATIONSHIPS AMONG STUDENTS

"The main objective of this study was to examine the relationship between parental educational styles, perfectionism in children, and the quality of adult sibling relationships. Additionally, the goal is to determine whether parental educational styles represent a significant predictor of perfectionism and quality of relationship between adults. The research was conducted on a sample of 200 respondents, students of the Faculty of Philosophy, the Faculty of Economics and the Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics in Niš. EMBU questionnaires were used to examine the parental educational styles, the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS), and the KOBS Questionnaire on the quality of relationships with siblings in adulthood. The starting hypotheses have been partially confirmed and new questions have been raised about these constructs and their relationship. Statistically significant predictors of different aspects of perfectionism that were measured were a) significant predictors for the aspect of Parental Expectations were the following parental educational styles Overprotective mother (?=0.375, p=0.003) and Father’s Favoritism (?=-0.186, p=0.035), b) a significant predictor for the aspect of Organization was the following educational style Mother’s Emotional Warmth (?=0.335, p=0.031); c) significant predictors for Parental Criticism were the following educational styles Father’s Rejection (?=0.254, p=0.009) and Mother’s Emotional Warmth (?= -0.437, p=0.000), d) the significant predictor of Personal Standards was Overprotective mother (?= 0.307; p=0.042), e) significant predictors for Concern over Mistakes, were the following educational styles Parental Inconsistency (?=0.160; p=0.048) and Mother’s Emotional Warmth (?= -0.308, p=0.027), f) significant predictors of Doubts about Actions were the following educational styles, Parental Inconsistency (?=0.235, p=0.007), Overprotective mother (?= 0.304, p=0.035) and Mother’s Favoritism (?=0.222, p=0.028). When it comes to the quality of relationship between brothers and sisters, parental educational styles are also significant predictors of various aspects of those relationships. We are pointing out the most important results. Statistically significant predictors of the subscale Competition between siblings were the educational styles Father’s Rejection (?=0.469, p=0.000), Mother’s Favoritism (?=0.475, p=0.000), Father’s Favoritism (?=-0.196, p=0.029), and Mother’s Emotional Warmth (?=-0.313, p=0.019). Statistically significant predictors for the subscale Closeness or Warmth between siblings were the following educational styles Mother’s Rejection (?=-0.456, p=0.006) and Father’s Emotional Warmth (?=0.391, p=0.002). Statistically significant predictors for subscale the Conflict between siblings were the following educational styles Father’s Rejection (?=0.355, p=0.003) and Mother’s Favoritism (?=0.337, p=0.000). These results show that both rejection and favoritism by the parents contribute to the development of less desired relationships between siblings. Overprotective parents, inconsistency and favoritism of a child contribute to less desired aspects of perfectionism. Additional analysis of connection between perfectionism and relationship between siblings revealed that the less desired aspects of perfectionism are connected with bad relationships between siblings. The only exception is the aspect of Organization as it is connected with emotional and instrumental support, familiarity, closeness and admiration between siblings."

The role of perfectionism in athletes: Diagnosis and relationship with anxiety, mental images and sports motivation

The article analyzes the results of studying the features of perfectionism and its relationship with anxiety, internal and external motivation, and mental images in athletes. The authors re- lied on R.Frost’s concept of the multidimensional structure of perfectionism and the division of its parameters into adaptive and maladaptive. The study involved 249 athletes (Mage=20,18; SDage=3,13) from different regions of the Russian Federation. As a result, it was shown that trait anxiety is significantly higher in athletes with a higher level of perfectionism. Adaptive parameters of perfectionism (“personal standards and organization”) are positively correlated with all parameters of internal motivation in athletes (“motivation to know”, “experience stimulation” and “motivation toward accomplishments”). In addition, maladaptive parameter such as “doubts about actions” negatively correlate with all parameters of internal motivation. The external motivation parameter “social approval” is significantly associated with all parameters of maladaptive perfectionism (“perceived coach pressure”, “perceived parental pressure”, “concern over mistakes”, “doubts about actions”). In addition, the parameter “personal standards and organization” has a significant impact on the frequency of using all types of mental images.

The role of concern for error in the relationship between implicit intelligence theory and the perceived competency

Little is known about how implicit theories of intelligence and perceived competence are related. This study examines whether concern over mistakes mediates this relationship. A total of 508 students (255 girls) in grade 4 or 5 completed self-reported surveys for four consecutive years. Each year, the results of the mediation analysis indicate that students who perceive their intelligence as more malleable have a stronger sense of competence (r = .25 to .32, p < .001), while the more concerned they are over mistakes, the lower their perceived competence (r = -.18 to -.26, p < .001). At each time of measurement, the concern over mistakes weakens the relationship between the conception of intelligence and perceived competence, which remains significant and moderate, but the role of concern over mistakes tends to fade over time. Keywords: intelligence theory, mistake preoccupation, perception of competence, mediation analysis, elementary and high school education La relation entre la théorie implicite de l'intelligence et la perception de compétence reste peu connue. Cette étude examine le rôle potentiellement médiateur de la préoccupation envers l'erreur dans cette relation. Les 508 élèves participants (255 filles) de 4e année ou 5e année du primaire au début de l'étude ont répondu aux questionnaires pendant quatre ans consécutifs. Les résultats des analyses de médiation faites tous les ans indiquent que plus les élèves ont une conception dynamique de l’intelligence, plus leur perception de compétence est élevée (r = .25 à .32, p < .001) alors que plus ils sont préoccupés par l’erreur, moins leur perception de compétence est élevée (r = -.18 à -.26, p < .001). À chaque temps de mesure, la préoccupation envers l'erreur diminue significativement le lien entre la conception de l'intelligence et la perception de compétence, mais ce dernier reste significatif et modéré. Mots-clés : théorie de l'intelligence, préoccupation envers l’erreur, perception de compétence, analyse de médiation, enseignement primaire et secondaire

Structure and validity of the Clinical Perfectionism Questionnaire in female adolescents

Background:Perfectionism is a transdiagnostic risk factor across psychopathology. The Clinical Perfectionism Questionnaire (CPQ) was developed to assess change in order to provide clinical utility, but currently the psychometric properties of the CPQ with adolescents is unknown.Aims:To assess the factor structure and construct validity of the CPQ in female adolescents.Method:The CPQ was administered to 267 females aged 14–19 years of age. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to examine the validity of the two-factor model and a second-order factor model. Pearson correlations were used to evaluate the relationships between the CPQ and a wide range of measures of perfectionism, psychopathology and personality traits.Results:The study demonstrated internal consistency, construct validity and incremental validity of the CPQ in a sample of female adolescents. The CFA in the present study confirmed the two-factor model of the CPQ with Factor 1 relating to perfectionistic strivings and Factor 2 representing perfectionistic concerns. The second-order two factor model indicated no deterioration in fit.Conclusions:The two-factor model of the CPQ fits with the theoretical definition of clinical perfectionism where the over-dependence of self-worth on achievement and concern over mistakes are key elements. The CPQ is suitable for use with female adolescents in future research that seeks to better understand the role of perfectionism in the range of mental illnesses that impact youth.