The cultural context of perfectionism and psychological outcome: Investigating a stress -mediated model with Asian American and European American students.

Abstract

The present study examined multidimensional perfectionism (as measured by the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, Hewitt & Flett, 1991) among Asian American and European American students. First, mean differences in levels of self-oriented, other-oriented, and socially prescribed perfectionism were compared. Second, relational patterns among perfectionism, stress, and both positive (viz, life satisfaction, positive affect) and negative (viz, depressive tendencies, negative affect) psychological outcomes were investigated. Third, path analyses were conducted to test a stress-mediated model of perfectionism and outcome. In addition, Singelis' (1994) Self-Construal Scale was used to examine whether or not independent and interdependent self-construals accounted for differences between ethnic groups. Overall, findings did not reveal mean differences in levels of perfectionism between Asian American and European American students. Results corroborated significant associations between socially prescribed perfectionism and psychological outcomes (both positive and negative). While efforts to measure culture using the Self-Construal Scale proved a complex task, the findings did support differences in relational patterns based on self-identified ethnicity and gender. Finally, stress was found to be a mediating factor in a number of perfectionism-outcome relationships, and these relationships varied as a function of gender and self-identified ethnicity. Implications of the findings for counseling college students were discussed. Limitations of the study and future directions for research were also considered.