کمال گرایی جوانان و والدین و درونی سازی آسیب شناسی روانی

Perfectionism is a multidimensional construct that has only recently received greater attention in parents and their children. Perfectionism is often shared among family members, and one developmental model indicates that anxious parents may help predispose perfectionism in youths. This study examined relationships between parent and youth perfectionism and between parent perfectionism and youth internalizing psychopathology among adolescents aged 11–17 years. Both relationships were examined for mediation by parent internalizing psychopathology. Maternal perfectionism was found related to sons’ self-oriented perfectionism and internalizing psychopathology. Maternal self-oriented perfectionism was most closely related to sons’ self-oriented perfectionism, but maternal socially prescribed perfectionism was most closely (and inversely) related to sons’ internalizing psychopathology. Maternal obsessive compulsive symptoms also mediated the relationship between mothers’ and sons’ self-oriented perfectionism. Several possible pathways between parent and child perfectionism are discussed, including information transfer, modeling, and excessive control.

Perfectionism has been historically conceptualized as a strong need to perform at a flawless level in many aspects of one’s life (Flett & Hewitt, 2002). Many components of perfectionism have been investigated in recent years, including excessive concern about making mistakes, doubting one’s ability to achieve goals, and order and neatness. Multidimensional conceptualizations of perfectionism have also been proposed and empirically supported, including Hewitt and Flett’s (1991) popular model of self-oriented, socially prescribed, and other-oriented perfectionism. Self-oriented perfectionism refers to harsh self-criticism and placing exacting demands on oneself, so the source and subject of perfectionism are internal. Socially prescribed perfectionism refers to a belief that significant others expect one to be perfect, so the source of perfectionism is external but the subject is internal. Other-oriented perfectionism refers to high expectations for the performance of others, so the source of perfectionism is internal but the subject is external (Flett & Hewitt, 2002). Greater research attention has been paid to self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism, especially in youths, so the emphasis here will be on these constructs (McCreary, Joiner, Schmidt, & Ialongo, 2004). Self-oriented perfectionism in adults has been linked to high expectations for success, well-developed organizational abilities, and strong achievement motivation but also depression, anxiety, and eating disorders (Flett et al., 1989, Frost et al., 1993 and Hewitt and Flett, 1990). Self-oriented perfectionism in children and adolescents has been linked to scholastic effort, intrinsic motivation, and strong desire to meet academic goals. However, such perfectionism has also been closely linked to body dissatisfaction and anorexia and bulimia in youths (Castro et al., 2004, Evans et al., 2008, McVey et al., 2002 and Nilsson et al., 2008). Socially prescribed perfectionism carries risks for adults and children as well. Adults high in socially prescribed perfectionism tend to fear negative evaluation, display social anxiety and hopelessness, desire much positive attention from others, procrastinate on tasks, feel overly self-conscious in public, and have Type A personalities (Alden et al., 2002, Chang and Rand, 2000 and Flett et al., 1991). As such, these adults are at risk for panic disorder, social phobia, obsessive compulsive disorder, and other areas of maladjustment (Antony et al., 1998 and Sherry et al., 2003). Socially prescribed perfectionism in youths is related to positive aspects such as greater effort in school but also negative aspects such as depression, suicidality, anxiety, low self-esteem, body image dissatisfaction, and dysfunctional eating attitudes (Donaldson et al., 2000, Hewitt and Flett, 2002 and Hewitt et al., 1997). Given similar effects of perfectionism on adults and children, researchers have considered transmissive links between the two parties. Earlier theorists proposed that child perfectionism develops from strong desires to derive approval and affection from potentially demanding, controlling, austere, or critical parents. Recent evidence supports these claims. For example, Neumeister and Finch (2006) examined high-ability students and found that insecure attachment with parents was closely aligned with authoritarian and uninvolved parenting and child self-oriented or socially prescribed perfectionism. Soenens et al., 2005, Soenens et al., 2008 and Soenens et al., 2006 also found parental psychological control to be related to elevated maladaptive perfectionism in youth and that both variables could lead to adverse effects on adolescent eating patterns and well-being. Genetic influences or social learning/modeling may also be key transmission factors given that several researchers have found parent and child perfectionism to be closely linked (Bachner-Melman et al., 2007 and Tozzi et al., 2004). Such modeling may involve primary caregivers (mothers) or result from same-sex interactions (e.g., fathers and boys). “Youths” in these studies have generally been adult participants, however (Chang, 2000, Frost et al., 1991 and Vieth and Trull, 1999). One area that may link parent and child perfectionism but that has received little direct attention in the literature is parent psychopathology. Flett and Hewitt (2002) proposed an anxious rearing model of perfectionism in that children exposed to parents who continually worry about being perfect or who are generally anxious will become perfectionistic to avoid making mistakes and minimize associated threats. Researchers have found that anxious youths generally have anxious parents, and that parent perfectionism is related to child test anxiety, but little information is available about aspects of child perfectionism and parent psychopathology such as anxiety, depression, or obsessive compulsiveness (Besharat, 2003 and Fisak et al., 2007). The purpose of this study was thus to investigate, using standardized measures, two specific hypotheses about perfectionism in adults and youths aged 11–17 years. The first hypothesis was that parent perfectionism would predict youth perfectionism and that this relationship would be mediated by parent psychopathology. The second hypothesis was that parent perfectionism would predict youth psychopathology and that this relationship would be mediated by parent psychopathology. In line with extant literature, hypotheses concentrated on parent and child internalizing psychopathology as well as parent self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism and adolescent self-oriented perfectionism.