Destructive perfectionism as a transdiagnostic process
Keywords:
destructive perfectionism, emotional maladjustment, depression, anxiety, neurosis.
Abstract
Destructive perfectionism can have a harmful and significant impact on both individuals and society as a whole, causing negative consequences for a wide range of mental and physical health. Perfectionism not only increases vulnerability to mental and physical disorders, but also complicates the ability to cope with life's difficulties and illnesses.
The article systematizes and provides a review of foreign empirical research, which reflects the current state of the problem of the connection between destructive perfectionism and psychopathologies and various factors of its emergence and support.
Emphasis is placed on the fact that perfectionism is a transdiagnostic process that encompasses various psychological and psychiatric manifestations. The data on the relationship of perfectionism with depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, insomnia, eating disorders, and increased suicidality are summarized.
References
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3. Akram, U., Ellis, J. G., Myachykov, A., Chapman, A. J., & Barclay, N. L. (2017). Anxiety mediates the relationship between multidimensional perfectionism and insomnia disorder. Personality and Individual Differences, 104, 82–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.07.042
4. Azevedo, M. H., Bos, S. C., Soares, M. J., Marques, M., Pereira, A. T., Maia, B., … Macedo, A. (2010). Longitudinal study on perfectionism and sleep disturbance. The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry, 11(2–2), 476–485. https://doi.org/10.3109/15622970903304467
5. Burns, D. (1980). The perfectionist’s script for self-defeat. Psychology Today, 14(11), 34–51.
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https://doi.org/10.1080/16506073.2023.2277121
7. Curran, T., & Hill, A. P. (2019). Perfectionism is increasing over time: A meta-analysis of birth cohort differences from 1989 to 2016. Psychological bulletin, 145(4), 410–429. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000138
8. Egan, S. J., Wade, T. D., & Shafran, R. (2011). Perfectionism as a transdiagnostic process: a clinical review. Clinical psychology review, 31(2), 203–212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.04.009
9. Frost, R. O., Heimberg, R. G., Holt, C. S., Mattia, J. I., & Neubauer, A. L. (1993). A comparison of two measures of perfectionism. Personality and individual differences, 14(1), 119-126. https://doi.org/10.1016/0191-8869(93)90181-2
10. Frost, R. O., Marten, P., Lahart, C., & Rosenblate, R. (1990). The dimensions of perfectionism. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 14(5), 449–468. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01172967
11. Hamachek, D. E. (1978). Psychodynamics of normal and neurotic perfectionism. Psychology, 15, 27–33.
12. Hewitt, P. L., & Flett, G. L. (1991). Perfectionism in the self and social contexts: Conceptualization, assessment, and association with psychopathology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(3), 456–470. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.60.3.456
13. Hollender, M. H. (1965). Perfectionism. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 6(2), 94–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0010-440X(65)80016-5
14. Hu, P., Xie, T., Qian, W., Liu, X., Wang, J. (2023). The relationship between perfectionism and eating pathology: the mediating roles of body dissatisfaction and alexithymia. Curr Psychol 42, 30939–30948. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-04068-w
15. Limburg, K., Watson, H. J., Hagger, M. S., & Egan, S. J. (2017). The Relationship Between Perfectionism and Psychopathology: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of clinical psychology, 73(10), 1301–1326. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22435
16. Liu, L., Wang, W., Lian, Y., Wu, X., Li, C., & Qiao, Z. (2023). Longitudinal Impact of Perfectionism on Suicidal Ideation among Chinese College Students with Perceived Academic Failure: The Roles of Rumination and Depression. Archives of Suicide Research, 28(3), 830–843. https://doi.org/10.1080/13811118.2023.2237088
17. Lo, A., & Abbott, M. J. (2019). Affective, cognitive, and behavioural responses to repeatedly demanding performance expectations across adaptive and maladaptive dimensions of perfectionism. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 51(4), 278–289. https://doi.org/10.1037/cbs0000144
18. Lunn, J., Greene, D., Callaghan, T., & Egan, S. J. (2023). Associations between perfectionism and symptoms of anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression in young people: a meta-analysis. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 52(5), 460–487. https://doi.org/10.1080/16506073.2023.2211736
19. Molnar, D. S., Sirois, F. M., Flett, G. L., Janssen, W. F., & Hewitt, P. L. (2018). Perfectionism and Health: The Roles of Health Behaviors and Stress-Related Processes. In J. Stoeber (Ed.), The Psychology of Perfectionism: Theory, Research, and Applications (pp. 200-221). London: Routledge.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315536255-14
20. Oh, S. Y., Meaklim, H., Nicholas, C. L., Cunnington, D., Schenker, M., Patrick, C. J., Windred, D., & Phillips, L. J. (2024). Perfect Enough to Sleep? Perfectionism and Actigraphy-Determined Markers of Insomnia. Behavioral sleep medicine, 22(5), 709–724. https://doi.org/10.1080/15402002.2024.2355476
21. Patterson, H., Firebaugh, C., Zolnikov, T., Wardlow, R., Morgan, S. and Gordon, B. (2021). A Systematic Review on the Psychological Effects of Perfectionism and Accompanying Treatment. Psychology, 12, 1-24. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2021.121001
22. Petter, O. (2017, July 31). Perfectionism And Suicide Are Linked, Finds New Study. Independent: electronic journal. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/perfectionism-suicide-link-study-bodykill-adolescents-western-ontariomental-health-a7868581.html (дата звернення: 03.09.2025)
23. Redden, S. A., Mueller, N. E., & Cougle, J. R. (2022). The impact of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder in perfectionism. International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice, 27(1), 18–24.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13651501.2022.2069581
24. Rice, K. G., Richardson, C. M., & Tueller, S. (2014). The short form of the revised almost perfect scale. Journal of personality assessment, 96(3), 368–379. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.2013.838172
25. Robinson, K., Wade, D. T. (2021). Perfectionism interventions targeting disordered eating: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 4(54), 473-487. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23483
26. Schmidt, R.E., Courvoisier, D.S., Cullati, S., Kraehenmann, R. and Van der Linden, M. (2018). Too Imperfect to Fall Asleep: Perfectionism, Pre-sleep Counterfactual Processing, and Insomnia. Front. Psychol. 9(18). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01288
27. Smith, M. M., Sherry, S. B., Gautreau, C. M., Stewart, S. H., Saklofske, D. H., & Mushquash, A. R. (2017). Are perfectionistic concerns an antecedent of or a consequence of binge eating, or both? A short-term four-wave longitudinal study of undergraduate women. Eating behaviors, 26, 23–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2017.01.001
28. Smith, M. M., Sherry, S. B., Chen, S., Saklofske, D. H., Mushquash, C., Flett, G. L., & Hewitt, P. L. (2018). The perniciousness of perfectionism: A meta-analytic review of the perfectionism-suicide relationship. Journal of personality, 86(3), 522–542. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12333
29. Smith, M. M., Sherry, S. B., Ray, C., Hewitt, P. L., & Flett, G. L. (2021). Is perfectionism a vulnerability factor for depressive symptoms, a complication of depressive symptoms, or both? A meta-analytic test of 67 longitudinal studies. Clinical psychology review, 84, 101982. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2021.101982
30. Stackpole, R., Greene, D., Bills, E., & Egan, S. J. (2023). The association between eating disorders and perfectionism in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Eating behaviors, 50, article 101769.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2023.101769
31. Stoeber, J., & Otto, K. (2006). Positive conceptions of perfectionism: Approaches, evidence, challenges. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10, 295-319. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/90946.pdf
32. Stoeber, J. (Ed.). (2017). The psychology of perfectionism: Theory, research, applications. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315536255
33. Stricker, J., Kröger, L., Küskens, A., Gieselmann, A., & Pietrowsky, R. (2022). No perfect sleep! A systematic review of the link between multidimensional perfectionism and sleep disturbance. Journal of sleep research, 31(5), article e13548. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.13548
34. Shahnaz, A., Saffer, B. Y., & Klonsky, E. D. (2018). The relationship of perfectionism to suicide ideation and attempts in a large online sample. Personality and Individual Differences, 130, 117–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.04.002
35. Suh, H., Liou, P. Y., Jeong, J., & Kim, S. Y. (2022). Perfectionism, Prolonged Stress Reactivity, and Depression: A Two-Wave Cross-Lagged Analysis. J Rat-Emo Cognitive-Behav Ther 42, 54–68. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-022-00483-x
36. Vicent, M., Gonzálvez, C., Quiles, M. J., & Sánchez-Meca, J. (2023). Perfectionism and binge eating association: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of eating disorders, 11(1), 101. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-023-00817-9
2. Akram, U., Ellis, J. G., & Barclay, N. L. (2015). Anxiety Mediates the Relationship between Perfectionism and Insomnia Symptoms: A Longitudinal Study. PloS one, 10(10), e0138865. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0138865
3. Akram, U., Ellis, J. G., Myachykov, A., Chapman, A. J., & Barclay, N. L. (2017). Anxiety mediates the relationship between multidimensional perfectionism and insomnia disorder. Personality and Individual Differences, 104, 82–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.07.042
4. Azevedo, M. H., Bos, S. C., Soares, M. J., Marques, M., Pereira, A. T., Maia, B., … Macedo, A. (2010). Longitudinal study on perfectionism and sleep disturbance. The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry, 11(2–2), 476–485. https://doi.org/10.3109/15622970903304467
5. Burns, D. (1980). The perfectionist’s script for self-defeat. Psychology Today, 14(11), 34–51.
6. Callaghan, T., Greene, D., Shafran, R., Lunn, J., & Egan, S. J. (2023). The relationships between perfectionism and symptoms of depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 53(2), 121–132.
https://doi.org/10.1080/16506073.2023.2277121
7. Curran, T., & Hill, A. P. (2019). Perfectionism is increasing over time: A meta-analysis of birth cohort differences from 1989 to 2016. Psychological bulletin, 145(4), 410–429. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000138
8. Egan, S. J., Wade, T. D., & Shafran, R. (2011). Perfectionism as a transdiagnostic process: a clinical review. Clinical psychology review, 31(2), 203–212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.04.009
9. Frost, R. O., Heimberg, R. G., Holt, C. S., Mattia, J. I., & Neubauer, A. L. (1993). A comparison of two measures of perfectionism. Personality and individual differences, 14(1), 119-126. https://doi.org/10.1016/0191-8869(93)90181-2
10. Frost, R. O., Marten, P., Lahart, C., & Rosenblate, R. (1990). The dimensions of perfectionism. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 14(5), 449–468. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01172967
11. Hamachek, D. E. (1978). Psychodynamics of normal and neurotic perfectionism. Psychology, 15, 27–33.
12. Hewitt, P. L., & Flett, G. L. (1991). Perfectionism in the self and social contexts: Conceptualization, assessment, and association with psychopathology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(3), 456–470. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.60.3.456
13. Hollender, M. H. (1965). Perfectionism. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 6(2), 94–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0010-440X(65)80016-5
14. Hu, P., Xie, T., Qian, W., Liu, X., Wang, J. (2023). The relationship between perfectionism and eating pathology: the mediating roles of body dissatisfaction and alexithymia. Curr Psychol 42, 30939–30948. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-04068-w
15. Limburg, K., Watson, H. J., Hagger, M. S., & Egan, S. J. (2017). The Relationship Between Perfectionism and Psychopathology: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of clinical psychology, 73(10), 1301–1326. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22435
16. Liu, L., Wang, W., Lian, Y., Wu, X., Li, C., & Qiao, Z. (2023). Longitudinal Impact of Perfectionism on Suicidal Ideation among Chinese College Students with Perceived Academic Failure: The Roles of Rumination and Depression. Archives of Suicide Research, 28(3), 830–843. https://doi.org/10.1080/13811118.2023.2237088
17. Lo, A., & Abbott, M. J. (2019). Affective, cognitive, and behavioural responses to repeatedly demanding performance expectations across adaptive and maladaptive dimensions of perfectionism. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 51(4), 278–289. https://doi.org/10.1037/cbs0000144
18. Lunn, J., Greene, D., Callaghan, T., & Egan, S. J. (2023). Associations between perfectionism and symptoms of anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression in young people: a meta-analysis. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 52(5), 460–487. https://doi.org/10.1080/16506073.2023.2211736
19. Molnar, D. S., Sirois, F. M., Flett, G. L., Janssen, W. F., & Hewitt, P. L. (2018). Perfectionism and Health: The Roles of Health Behaviors and Stress-Related Processes. In J. Stoeber (Ed.), The Psychology of Perfectionism: Theory, Research, and Applications (pp. 200-221). London: Routledge.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315536255-14
20. Oh, S. Y., Meaklim, H., Nicholas, C. L., Cunnington, D., Schenker, M., Patrick, C. J., Windred, D., & Phillips, L. J. (2024). Perfect Enough to Sleep? Perfectionism and Actigraphy-Determined Markers of Insomnia. Behavioral sleep medicine, 22(5), 709–724. https://doi.org/10.1080/15402002.2024.2355476
21. Patterson, H., Firebaugh, C., Zolnikov, T., Wardlow, R., Morgan, S. and Gordon, B. (2021). A Systematic Review on the Psychological Effects of Perfectionism and Accompanying Treatment. Psychology, 12, 1-24. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2021.121001
22. Petter, O. (2017, July 31). Perfectionism And Suicide Are Linked, Finds New Study. Independent: electronic journal. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/perfectionism-suicide-link-study-bodykill-adolescents-western-ontariomental-health-a7868581.html (дата звернення: 03.09.2025)
23. Redden, S. A., Mueller, N. E., & Cougle, J. R. (2022). The impact of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder in perfectionism. International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice, 27(1), 18–24.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13651501.2022.2069581
24. Rice, K. G., Richardson, C. M., & Tueller, S. (2014). The short form of the revised almost perfect scale. Journal of personality assessment, 96(3), 368–379. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.2013.838172
25. Robinson, K., Wade, D. T. (2021). Perfectionism interventions targeting disordered eating: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 4(54), 473-487. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23483
26. Schmidt, R.E., Courvoisier, D.S., Cullati, S., Kraehenmann, R. and Van der Linden, M. (2018). Too Imperfect to Fall Asleep: Perfectionism, Pre-sleep Counterfactual Processing, and Insomnia. Front. Psychol. 9(18). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01288
27. Smith, M. M., Sherry, S. B., Gautreau, C. M., Stewart, S. H., Saklofske, D. H., & Mushquash, A. R. (2017). Are perfectionistic concerns an antecedent of or a consequence of binge eating, or both? A short-term four-wave longitudinal study of undergraduate women. Eating behaviors, 26, 23–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2017.01.001
28. Smith, M. M., Sherry, S. B., Chen, S., Saklofske, D. H., Mushquash, C., Flett, G. L., & Hewitt, P. L. (2018). The perniciousness of perfectionism: A meta-analytic review of the perfectionism-suicide relationship. Journal of personality, 86(3), 522–542. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12333
29. Smith, M. M., Sherry, S. B., Ray, C., Hewitt, P. L., & Flett, G. L. (2021). Is perfectionism a vulnerability factor for depressive symptoms, a complication of depressive symptoms, or both? A meta-analytic test of 67 longitudinal studies. Clinical psychology review, 84, 101982. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2021.101982
30. Stackpole, R., Greene, D., Bills, E., & Egan, S. J. (2023). The association between eating disorders and perfectionism in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Eating behaviors, 50, article 101769.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2023.101769
31. Stoeber, J., & Otto, K. (2006). Positive conceptions of perfectionism: Approaches, evidence, challenges. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10, 295-319. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/90946.pdf
32. Stoeber, J. (Ed.). (2017). The psychology of perfectionism: Theory, research, applications. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315536255
33. Stricker, J., Kröger, L., Küskens, A., Gieselmann, A., & Pietrowsky, R. (2022). No perfect sleep! A systematic review of the link between multidimensional perfectionism and sleep disturbance. Journal of sleep research, 31(5), article e13548. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.13548
34. Shahnaz, A., Saffer, B. Y., & Klonsky, E. D. (2018). The relationship of perfectionism to suicide ideation and attempts in a large online sample. Personality and Individual Differences, 130, 117–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.04.002
35. Suh, H., Liou, P. Y., Jeong, J., & Kim, S. Y. (2022). Perfectionism, Prolonged Stress Reactivity, and Depression: A Two-Wave Cross-Lagged Analysis. J Rat-Emo Cognitive-Behav Ther 42, 54–68. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-022-00483-x
36. Vicent, M., Gonzálvez, C., Quiles, M. J., & Sánchez-Meca, J. (2023). Perfectionism and binge eating association: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of eating disorders, 11(1), 101. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-023-00817-9
Published
2025-11-30
How to Cite
Zaviazkina, N., & Sahachko, N. (2025). Destructive perfectionism as a transdiagnostic process. Kyiv Journal of Modern Psychology and Psychotherapy, 10, 123-133. https://doi.org/10.48020/mppj.2025.02.10
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