Abstract
Clinically significant perfectionism is defined as patterns of perfectionism which are over-represented in clinical samples and under-represented in non-clinical samples. The present study contrasted two hypotheses about what characterizes clinically significant perfectionism: the two-factor theory and perfectionism/acceptance theory. First, a person-oriented approach by means of cluster analysis was used to identify typical patterns of perfectionism. These clusters were then cross-tabulated with two clinical samples (patients with social phobia and patients with panic disorder) and a non-clinical sample. The results showed that patterns of clinically significant perfectionism combined high Concern over Mistakes (CM) and Doubts about Action (DA) with high Personal Standards (PS) (and to a lesser extent also high Organization)--which is consistent with perfectionism/acceptance theory, but at odds with the two-factor theory. The results illustrate the value of a person-oriented methodological approach as a complement to the traditional variable-oriented approach.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 333-350 |
Journal | Cognitive Therapy and Research |
Volume | 32 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2008 |
Subject classification (UKÄ)
- Psychology
Free keywords
- person-oriented approach
- depression
- panic disorder
- perfectionism
- social phobia