Perfectionism and Perceived Control in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms

Summary & key facts

Researchers studied 161 adults who had experienced at least one traumatic event (57% women; average age 33). They measured three types of perfectionism, how much control people felt they had, and PTSD symptoms using self-report questionnaires. They found that feeling pressured to be perfect by others (socially prescribed perfectionism) was linked to higher PTSD symptoms. That link appeared only for people who felt low control over their lives. The study used statistical controls but was cross-sectional and relied on self-reports, so it does not show cause and effect.

Key facts:

• Sample size was 161 adults who had experienced at least one traumatic event.
• Participants were 57% women with a mean age of 33.24 years (SD = 10.84).
• Of the three perfectionism types studied (self-oriented, other-oriented, socially prescribed), only socially prescribed perfectionism was associated with higher PTSD symptoms in the main analyses.
• Perceived control changed the association: higher socially prescribed perfectionism related to greater PTSD symptoms only when perceived control was low (a significant interaction in regression analyses).
• The study used multiple regression and controlled for factors such as neuroticism, sex, age, income, education, number of traumatic events, and age of trauma onset.
• Data came from self-report measures and the study was cross-sectional, so the findings do not prove that perfectionism or perceived control cause PTSD symptoms.

Topics

Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum Perfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety Studies

Categories

Clinical Psychology Psychology Social Sciences

Tags

Clinical psychology Computer science Perfectionism (psychology) Personality Programming language Psychiatry Psychology Social psychology Trait

Conditions & symptoms

PTSD