Perfectionism as a transdiagnostic process: Examining perfectionism as a risk factor for multiple types of psychopathology
Final Report Abstract
The main focus of this project was to investigate perfectionism as a potential "transdiagnostic process" in psychology. This assumes that certain processes are involved in the development and maintenance of many different psychological disorders. However, there is currently a lack of evidence that perfectionism not only occurs at the same time as symptoms, but also predicts or causes symptoms. To investigate this, several studies were conducted. One online study surveyed 499 participants over the course of one year, measuring perfectionism and various psychological symptoms. Results showed that perfectionism played a central role in so-called symptom networks. One component of perfectionism was particularly relevant: perfectionistic concerns. People with perfectionist concerns are afraid of making mistakes and criticize themselves when they do. Perfectionistic concerns acted as a bridge between symptoms of different mental disorders. Additionally, perfectionistic concerns were strongly linked to low self-esteem: the more pronounced perfectionistic concerns were, the lower was the self-esteem. Moreover, perfectionistic concerns predicted obsessive-compulsive symptoms, but did not predict eating disorder symptoms. In addition to investigating the predictive power of perfectionism, the project also explored a second question: How can two individuals with the same level of perfectionism develop different disorders? To investigate this, two experimental studies with a total of 260 participants were conducted. The participants' perfectionism was measured and then either body dissatisfaction (compared to a control condition) or an inflated sense of responsibility (compared to a control condition) was induced. It was expected that people in the condition of induced body dissatisfaction would show more symptoms of an eating disorder compared to the control condition and that these would be higher the stronger the perfectionism. For the induced inflated sense of responsibility, the same was assumed for symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Results did not support either idea. Instead, perfectionism predicted symptoms across disorders (both obsessive-compulsive and eating disorder symptoms). Here, too, the effects of perfectionistic concerns proved particularly consistent. In sum, the project found that perfectionism, and perfectionistic concerns in particular, are associated with more severe psychological symptoms across disorders. However, the predictive power of perfectionism is not as broad as assumed. The question of how perfectionism can lead to different disorders remains unanswered. Findings of this project are limited to the samples used (young women without any diagnosed psychological disorders).
Publications
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Perfectionism as a Predictor of Treatment Outcome in Third-Wave Group Therapies for OCD. Presentation at the Conference of the European Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies in Barcelona
Claus, N., Miegel, F., Jelinek, L., Landmann, S., Moritz, S., Külz, A.K., Rubel, J. & Cludius, B.
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Der perfekte Patient? Perfektionismus als Prädiktor für Therapieerfolg bei MBCT und Metakognitivem Training für Zwang. Presentation at Deutscher Psychotherapiekongress in Berlin
Claus, N., Miegel, F., Jelinek, L., Landmann, S., Moritz, S., Külz, A.-K., Rubel, J. & Cludius, B.
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Perfectionism as Possible Predictor for Treatment Success in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy and Metacognitive Training as Third-Wave Treatments for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 47(3), 439-453.
Claus, Nathalie; Miegel, Franziska; Jelinek, Lena; Landmann, Sarah; Moritz, Steffen; Külz, Anne Katrin; Rubel, Julian & Cludius, Barbara
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Die transdiagnostische Rolle von Perfektionismus: Erkenntnisse aus längsschnittlichen Netzwerkanalysen. Presentation at Deutscher Psychotherapiekongress in Berlin
Claus, N., Limburg, K., Egan, S., Shafran, R., Ehring, T., Takano, K. & Cludius, B.
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The Transdiagnostic Role of Perfectionism: Insights from Longitudinal Network Analyses in a Young Female Sample. Presentation at the Conference of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America in Boston
Claus, N., Limburg, K., Egan, S., Shafran, R., Ehring, T., Takano, K. & Cludius, B.
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Zusammenspiel von Perfektionismus und Verantwortungsgefühl in der Entstehung von Zwangssymptomen. Presentation at Deutscher Psychotherapiekongress in Berlin
Claus, N., Limburg, K., Egan, S., Shafran, R., Ehring, T., Takano, K. & Cludius, B.
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Ich könnte für Schlimmes verantwortlich sein: Experimentelle Manipulation von Verantwortungsgefühl als Faktor in der Entstehung von Zwangssymptomen. Presentation at DPK in Berlin
Claus, N., Limburg, K., Egan, S., Shafran, R., Ehring, T., Takano, K. & Cludius, B.
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Perfectionism as a risk factor for psychopathology in a community sample of young women: disorder-specific pathways to disordered eating or obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 54(5), 664-684.
Claus, Nathalie; Cludius, Barbara; Egan, Sarah J.; Shafran, Roz; Ehring, Thomas; Takano, Keisuke & Limburg, Karina
