Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Counseling and Psychological Services Department of Counseling and Psychological Dissertations Services Summer 8-11-2020 A Randomized Control Trial Adapting a Self-Forgiveness Intervention for Perfectionists Michael Massengale Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/cps_diss Recommended Citation Massengale, Michael, "A Randomized Control Trial Adapting a Self-Forgiveness Intervention for Perfectionists." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2020. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/cps_diss/144 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Counseling and Psychological Services at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Counseling and Psychological Services Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ACCEPTANCE This dissertation, A RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL ADAPTING A SELF- FORGIVENESS INTERVENTION FOR PERFECTIONISTS, by MICHAEL MASSENGALE, was prepared under the direction of the candidate’s Dissertation Advisory Committee. It is accepted by the committee members in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, Doctor of Philosophy, in the College of Education & Human Development, Georgia State University. The Dissertation Advisory Committee and the student’s Department Chairperson, as representatives of the faculty, certify that this dissertation has met all standards of excellence and scholarship as determined by the faculty. ________________________________ Don Davis, Ph.D. Committee Chair ________________________________ ________________________________ Kenneth Rice, Ph.D. Cirleen DeBlaere, Ph.D. Committee Member Committee Member ________________________________ Catherine Perkins, Ph.D. Committee Member ________________________________ Date ________________________________ Brian Dew, Ph.D. Chairperson, Department of Counseling and Psychological Services ________________________________ Paul A. Alberto, Ph.D. Dean, College of Education & Human Development AUTHOR’S STATEMENT By presenting this dissertation as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the advanced degree from Georgia State University, I agree that the library of Georgia State University shall make it available for inspection and circulation in accordance with its regulations governing materials of this type. I agree that permission to quote, to copy from, or to publish this dissertation may be granted by the professor under whose direction it was written, by the College of Education & Human Development’s Director of Graduate Studies, or by me. Such quoting, copying, or publishing must be solely for scholarly purposes and will not involve potential financial gain. It is understood that any copying from or publication of this dissertation which involves potential financial gain will not be allowed without my written permission. Michael Massengale NOTICE TO BORROWERS All dissertations deposited in the Georgia State University library must be used in accordance with the stipulations prescribed by the author in the preceding statement. The author of this dissertation is: Michael William Massengale Counseling and Psychological Services College of Education & Human Development Georgia State University The director of this dissertation is: Don Davis Department of Counseling and Psychological Services College of Education & Human Development Georgia State University Atlanta, GA 30303 CURRICULUM VITAE Michael William Massengale ADDRESS: 2498 Pineview Drive Decatur, GA 30030 EDUCATION: Ph.D. 2020 Georgia State University CPS Masters Degree 2015 Loyola University-Chicago Community Counseling Bachelors Degree 2009 University of Notre Dame Theology PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 2019-present Psychology Intern Atlanta VA 2018-2019 Practicum Student Atlanta VA 2017-2018 Practicum Student Grady Hospital 2016-2017 Practicum Student Georgia Tech CC 2015-2016 Practicum Student Grady Hospital PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS: Massengale, M., Shebuski, K. M., Karaga, S., Choe, E., Hong, J., Hunter, T. L., & Dispenza, F. (2019). Psychology of Working Theory with refugee persons: Applications for career counseling. Journal of Career Development. Brown, S. D., Roche, M., Abrams, M., Lamp, K., Telander, K., Daskalova, P., ... & Massengale, M. (2018). Relationships among supports and barriers and career and educational outcomes: A meta-analytic investigation. Journal of Career Assessment, 26(3), 395-412. Davis, D. E., Massengale, M., Rice, K. G., Sandage, S., Gazaway, S., Choe, E., ... & Ordaz, A. (2018). Perfectionism as a Proxy for Wisdom: A Review of Longitudinal Studies of Adversity and Perfectionism. The Journal of Value Inquiry, 1-21. McElroy-Heltzel, S. E., Davis, D. E., DeBlaere, C., Hook, J. N., Massengale, M., & Choe, E. (2018). Cultural humility: Pilot study testing the social bonds hypothesis in interethnic couples. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 65(4), 531. Choe, E., Jordan, T., Gazaway, S., Ordaz, A., Massengale, M., McElroy, S., Placeres, V., & Davis, D.E. (2018, March). Experiences of Racism and Race-Based Traumatic Stress: The Moderating Effects of Cyber Racism, Racial/Ethnic Identity, and Forgiveness. Poster presented at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology Annual Convention, Atlanta, GA. Choe, E., & Massengale, M., & Davis. D. (2018, August). Using IRT to Validate the VIA-IS Modesty Humility Subscale. Poster presented at the American Psychological Association National Convention, San Francisco, CA. Massengale, M., Choe, E., & Davis, D. E. (2017). Self-forgiveness and personal and relational well-being. In L. Woodyatt, E. L. Worthington Jr., & M. Wenzel (Eds.), Handbook of the Psychology of Self-Forgiveness (pp. 101-113). Cham, Switzerland: Springer. Massengale, M., Davis, D. E., DeBlaere, C., Zelaya, D. G., Shannonhouse, L., Van Tongeren, D. R., Hook, J. Hill, P. (2017). Attachment avoidance to God exacerbates the negative effect of tangible resource loss on psychological resource loss. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 20(5), 489-501. Thomas, A. J., Massengale, M., & Odunewu, L. (2016). Strengths-Based Culturally Relevant Family Therapy. In J. K. Edwards, A. Young, & H. J. Nickels, (Eds.), Handbook of Strengths- Based Clinical Practices: Finding Common Factors. Routledge. New York: Routledge. Roche, M., Carr, A.L., Cooke, P., Daskalova, P., Massengale, M., & Brown, S.D. (2014, August). Understanding the facets of career indecision: Validation of the Career Indecision Profile-65. Poster presented at the American Psychological Association National Convention in Washington D.C. Vera, E., Phillips, J., Brounk, T., Speight, S., Weathersby, D., Gonzales, R., Kordesh, K., Floro, M., Aydin, F., Adams, K., Daskalova, P., Massengale, M., Jeremie-Brink, G., & Haywood, S. (2014, August). University and college counseling centers’ commitment to outreach and prevention. Poster presented at the American Psychological Association National Convention in Washington D.C. PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES AND ORGANIZATIONS 2019-present Georgia Psychological Association 2014-2019 American Psychological Association A RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL ADAPTING A SELF-FORGIVENESS INTERVENTION FOR PERFECTIONISTS by MICHAEL MASSENGALE Under the Direction of Don Davis, Ph.D. ABSTRACT Self-forgiveness is a relatively new construct in the positive psychology literature. Many researchers posit that self-forgiveness promotes well-being, psychologically and relationally, but others worry it might serve as a moral disengagement strategy that can harm individuals and relationships. In the present chapter, I conducted a qualitative review of 65 published empirical studies exploring associations of self-forgiveness with mental health and relational well-being. In order to address discrepancies in the literature, the review highlights more sophisticated studies and explores the differences that emerge when the construct of self-forgiveness is assessed as a state as opposed to a trait. In particular, measurement concerns are identified, specifically noting the lack of studies in the field that assess well-being while considering the two-part definition of self-forgiveness. Implications for future research and practice are discussed. The present study examined the effect of an adapted self-forgiveness intervention. Drawing on clinical considerations, I posit that existing interventions may be a poor fit for individuals, such as maladaptive perfectionists, who are prone to difficulties with self-evaluation and self- condemnation. I incorporated techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy to facilitate more realistic self-appraisal and tested the revised intervention. Utilizing an RCT framework, participants who completed the intervention showed significantly higher levels in a variety of self-forgiveness outcomes. Additionally, individuals high in maladaptive perfectionism showed worse baseline levels but a greater response to the intervention. Implications for future research and practice are discussed. INDEX WORDS: Self-forgiveness, perfectionism, workbook A RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL ADAPTING A SELF-FORGIVENESS INTERVENTION FOR PERFECTIONISTS by MICHAEL MASSENGALE A Defense Presented in Partial Fulfillment of Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Counseling Psychology in The College of Education Georgia State University Atlanta, GA 2019 Copyright by Michael William Massengale 2019 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS