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Perfectionistic Self‐Presentation and Trait Perfectionism in Social Problem‐Solving Ability and Depressive Symptoms
Author(s) -
Besser Avi,
Flett Gordon L.,
Hewitt Paul L.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2010.00653.x
Subject(s) - perfectionism (psychology) , psychology , trait , presentation (obstetrics) , distress , clinical psychology , depressive symptoms , depression (economics) , anxiety , psychiatry , medicine , macroeconomics , computer science , economics , radiology , programming language
This study examined social problem solving and perfectionistic self‐presentation, and assessed whether social problem solving mediates the association between perfectionism and depression. A sample of 200 community members completed measures of perfectionistic self‐presentation, trait perfectionism, social problem‐solving ability, and depression. Correlational analyses confirmed that perfectionistic self‐presentation and socially prescribed perfectionism are both associated with a negative problem‐solving orientation. Tests of mediating effects revealed that negative problem‐solving ability mediates the associations of socially prescribed perfectionism and perfectionistic self‐presentation with depressive symptoms, particularly among women. The findings support further exploration of mediational models linking perfectionism, problem‐solving ability, and depression and suggest that people who display high perfectionistic self‐presentation are particularly vulnerable to stress and distress and should benefit from problem‐solving training.