Parent Psychopathology and Child Perfectionism
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UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations 1-1-2007 Parent psychopathology and child perfectionism Lisa Caitlin Cook University of Nevada, Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/rtds Repository Citation Cook, Lisa Caitlin, "Parent psychopathology and child perfectionism" (2007). UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations. 2226. http://dx.doi.org/10.25669/q4f4-kdbp This Thesis is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Thesis has been accepted for inclusion in UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PARENT PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AND CHILD PLRFLCTIONISM by Lisa Caitlin Cook Bachelor of Arts The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA 2002 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts Degree in Psychology Department of Psychology College of Liberal Arts Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas December 2007 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 1452237 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI UMI Microform 1452237 Copyright 2008 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 E. Eisenhower Parkway PC Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. T Thesis Approval The Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas August 2% ,20 07 The Thesis prepared by L isa C a i t li n Cook Entitled Parent Psychopathology and Child Perfectionism is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology _________________________ Examination Committee Chair Dean of the Graduate College Examination Committee Member Examination Committee Member t C Iff- Graduate College Faculty Representative 11 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT Parent Psychopathology and Child Perfectionism by Lisa Caitlin Cook Dr. Christopher Kearney,Lxamination Committee Chair Professor of Psychology University of Nevada, Las Vegas Though perfectionism has been defined and measured in various ways, researchers generally agree that holding excessively high standards for oneself and/or others is central to the construct. Perfectionists are those individuals for whom merely doing well is never good enough. Perfectionism has been associated with many psychological disorders and signs of maladjustment. Though perfectionism is theorized as existing from childhood and onward, much of the research on this construct has used adult samples. Lvidence suggests that parents are closely involved in the development of perfectionism in their children. For these reasons, research about perfectionism in children and relevant associations with parent characteristics is of significant importance. Ill Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The current study assessed self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism in children and their parents as well as symptoms of psychopathology in these children and parents. The first hypothesis was that perfectionistic parents would be more likely to have children who also reported high levels of perfectionistic cognitions and behaviors. Significant relationships were found between mothers’ self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism and sons’ self-oriented perfectionism. The second hypothesis was that parents who reported symptoms of anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and general psychological distress would be more likely to have perfectionistic children than parents who did not report symptoms of these disorders. Indeed, parent symptomatology was related to self-oriented perfectionism in sons and maternal symptomatology predicted self-oriented perfectionism in sons. The third hypothesis was that parents and children who reported symptoms of anxiety, depression, obsessive- compulsive disorder, and general internalizing problems would also report higher levels of perfectionism. Self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism were each associated with and predicted symptomatology in male youth. Maternal symptoms of psychopathology were also predicted by self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism. Findings were consistent with the fourth hypothesis that a no ethnic or gender differences in perfectionism would be found. IV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT......................................................................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES.............................................................................................................................vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS..............................................................................................................viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................... 1 Defining Perfectionism: Early Conceptualizations ............................................................... 1 Recent Approaches to Defining Perfectionism .......................................................................4 Perfectionism Terms and Definitions .......................................................................................5 CHAPTER 2 A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ON PERFECTIONISM ..................17 Personality Traits and Associated Characteristics ............................................................... 17 Comorbid Diagnoses ...................................................................................................................39 Theories of Development ...........................................................................................................55 Risk Factors..................................................................................................................................61 Assessment .................................................................................................................................... 65 Purpose of Study ..........................................................................................................................79 H ypotheses .................................................................................................................................... 82 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY................................................................................................ 84 Participants .................................................................................................................................... 84 Parent Measures ...........................................................................................................................85 Child Measures ............................................................................................................................ 88 Procedure ...................................................................................................................................... 90 CHAPTER 4 DATA ANALYSIS ..............................................................................................92 Hypothesis One ............................................................................................................................92 Hypothesis Two ...........................................................................................................................95 Hypothesis Three .........................................................................................................................98 Hypothesis Four .........................................................................................................................107 CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS..................................... 109 Summary and Discussion of Results ...................... 109 Clinical Implications .................................................................................................................127 Limitations and Recommendations for Future Study ....................................................... 136 APPENDIX .......................................................................................................................................141 V Reproduced