Review
The destructiveness and public health significance of socially prescribed perfectionism: A review, analysis, and conceptual extension

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2022.102130Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Clarified and summarized previous conceptualizations of socially prescribed perfectionism.

  • Summarized the consequential outcomes associated with perfectionism at the individual, relationship, and societal levels.

  • Illustrated the unique predictive ability of socially prescribed perfectionism in previous research.

  • Highlighted the clinical and public health significance of socially prescribed perfectionism.

  • Introduced several new conceptual elements of socially prescribed perfectionism and related research directions.

Abstract

Perfectionism is a multidimensional personality construct with various components. Socially prescribed perfectionism (i.e., perceived social pressures and expectations to be perfect) is one key element. This trait dimension represents a chronic source of pressure that elicits feelings of helplessness and hopelessness at extreme levels. Unfortunately, at present, the destructiveness of socially prescribed perfectionism has not been fully recognized or extended conceptually despite the extensive volume of research on this dimension. To address this, we first trace the history and initial conceptualization of socially prescribed perfectionism. Next, we summarize and review findings that underscore the uniqueness and impact of socially prescribed perfectionism, including an emphasis on its link with personal, relationship, and societal outcomes that reflect poor mental well-being, physical health, and interpersonal adjustment. Most notably, we propose that socially prescribed perfectionism is a complex entity in and of itself and introduce new conceptual elements of socially prescribed perfectionism designed to illuminate further the nature of this construct and its role in distress, illness, dysfunction, and impairment. It is concluded that socially prescribed perfectionism is a significant public health concern that urgently requires sustained prevention and intervention efforts.

Section snippets

Socially prescribed perfectionism from a historical perspective

Hewitt and Flett (1991a) introduced the concept of socially prescribed perfectionism, which was defined as “… people’s belief or perception that significant others have unrealistic standards for them, evaluate them stringently, and exert pressure on them to be perfect” (p. 457). We developed a measure known as the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS) to assess this dimension, plus self-oriented and other-oriented perfectionism dimensions. As noted earlier, self-oriented perfectionism is

Associated models

We have outlined above that socially prescribed perfectionism is profoundly negative in terms of its associated motivational and cognitive orientations, and it includes deficits in self-control. Accordingly, people with high levels of socially prescribed perfectionism should be prone to many problems and various mental health difficulties and as such, socially prescribed perfectionism merits inclusion in models of distress and psychopathology. Socially prescribed perfectionism has been included

The uniqueness of socially prescribed perfectionism

Factor analytic findings suggest socially prescribed perfectionism often loads together with other perfectionism dimensions (e.g., concern over mistakes, doubts about actions, discrepancy, self-criticism). This factor is called by various names including “evaluative concerns perfectionism”, “self-critical perfectionism”, and “perfectionistic concerns” (see Dunkley & Blankstein, 2000; Dunkley, Blankstein, Halsall, Williams, & Winkworth, 2000; Smith, Sherry, Ray, Hewitt, & Flett, 2021). Numerous

Costs and consequences of socially prescribed perfectionism

We now more extensively consider additional evidence indicating that socially prescribed perfectionism is also highly consequential. Given that socially prescribed perfectionism is associated consistently with identity issues, a negative self-view and a failure to satisfy core psychological needs, it would be quite shocking if this personality trait dimension were not associated with numerous consequences. Indeed, several costs and consequences have already been mentioned above. Additional

Extending the scope and expanding the conceptualization of socially prescribed perfectionism as a personality construct

This segment of our article focuses on key conceptual elements of this perfectionism dimension introduced here that represent new perspectives on socially prescribed perfectionism. These new components can provide a framework for future inquiry in empirical research, but also represent potential themes to target in treatment interventions. It is also important to flesh out the socially prescribed perfectionism construct to further underscore that it is distinctive and not interchangeable with

Moving forward: the next decade of research

We have discussed thus far the nature of socially prescribed perfectionism from an expanded conceptual perspective. The destructiveness and uniqueness of this dimension have also been considered, and key aspects of socially prescribed perfectionism have been examined.

What are some other key directions for future research over the next 10 years? There are four overarching themes that seem central to advancing research and theory on this trait perfectionism dimension. Each theme is now briefly

Moving forward: targets for prevention and intervention

While additional research and theory are not only welcome but also imperative from our perspective, most pressing is the need for preventive, proactive efforts to reduce levels of socially prescribed perfectionism and its destructive impact in people’s lives. As we noted earlier, arguments have been advanced elsewhere for why the prevention of perfectionism is needed in general (for instance, see Flett & Hewitt, 2014; Flett & Hewitt, 2022; Wade, 2018), but any argument that focuses on socially

Conclusion

In the current article, we have presented a case for socially prescribed perfectionism as a destructive force in contemporary society. We demonstrated that this trait perfectionism dimension is linked uniquely with a wide range of adverse outcomes of consequence, as reflected in indices assessing mental well-being, physical health, and interpersonal relationships.

The current review also included a summary of how socially prescribed perfectionism has been conceptualized thus far. Most notably we

Role of funding sources

Funding for this study was provided by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Grant (435-2013-1304) awarded to the second author (PI) and the first author. Other support was provided through the Canada Research Chairs Program and the Faculty of Health at York University.

Contributors

Authors A and B summarized previous conceptualizations of perfectionism as a multidimensional construct and took the lead in proposing new conceptual advances. Author C conducted the literature searches and provided summaries of the results, including highlighting the consequential elements of this perfectionism dimension. Authors D and E assisted in summarizing and interpreting key findings and editing of the manuscript. All authors contributed to and have approved the final manuscript.

Declaration of Competing Interest

All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Dr. Gordon L. Flett is a professor in the Department of Psychology at York University and holds a Tier 1 Canadian Research Chair in Personality & Health. Former roles include Director of the LaMarsh Centre for Child and Youth Research and Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Education in the Faculty of Health at York University. Dr. Flett is most recognized for his contributions to research and theory on the role of perfectionism in psychopathology. Recent work includes his 2018 The

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      Perfectionism is a pernicious, multidimensional personality construct that involves three trait components (Hewitt et al., 2017): Self-oriented perfectionism (SOP; i.e., the requirement or demand of perfection of oneself), other-oriented perfectionism (OOP; i.e., the requirement of perfection for others), and finally, socially prescribed perfectionism (SPP; i.e., the belief that others require perfection of oneself). Of the three trait perfectionism dimensions, SPP is seen as particularly deleterious, with a large body of research demonstrating consistent and strong associations with myriad adverse mental health outcomes, including depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and interpersonal problems (see Flett et al., 2022 for a review). The Perfectionism Social Disconnection Model (PSDM; Hewitt et al., 2017) posits that individuals develop perfectionism due to asynchronies in the parent-child relationships.

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    Dr. Gordon L. Flett is a professor in the Department of Psychology at York University and holds a Tier 1 Canadian Research Chair in Personality & Health. Former roles include Director of the LaMarsh Centre for Child and Youth Research and Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Education in the Faculty of Health at York University. Dr. Flett is most recognized for his contributions to research and theory on the role of perfectionism in psychopathology. Recent work includes his 2018 The Psychology of Mattering published by Elsevier. His collaborative work with Dr. Hewitt has received widespread national and international attention and has been the subject of numerous media stories, including coverage on CTV, CNN, and the BBC and in the New York Times and the Washington Post. For more information on Dr. Flett’s scientific research, see health.yorku.ca.

    Dr. Paul L. Hewitt is a professor in the Department of Psychology at The University of British Columbia, the Director of Clinical Training for the University of British Columbia’s Clinical Psychology program, and is a registered clinical psychologist. In 2019, Dr. Hewitt was awarded the Canadian Psychological Association’s Donald O. Hebb Award for distinguished contributions to psychology as a science. Dr. Hewitt’s research focuses primarily on personality vulnerabilities and their implications for psychological difficulties among adults, adolescents, and children. In particular, he has conducted extensive research on the construct of perfectionism as a maladaptive and multidimensional personality style. Additionally, he is conducting research on the treatment of perfectionism and provides assessment and treatment for individuals with perfectionism problems and trains clinicians in the treatment of perfectionistic behavior. For more information on Dr. Hewitt’s scientific research, see hewittlab.psych.ubc.ca.

    Dr. Taryn Nepon obtained a Ph.D. in social and personality psychology at York University under the supervision of Dr. Gordon Flett. She also received a diploma in health psychology as part of her graduate training. Dr. Nepon is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the LaMarsh Centre for Child and Youth Research at York University. Her main research focuses on perfectionism as it relates to physical and mental health. In addition, she studies the role of mattering to others in health and well-being. Her research has been supported by grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. For more information on Dr. Nepon’s scientific research, see tarynnepon.com.

    Dr. Simon B. Sherry is a professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Dalhousie University, the Director of Clinical Training in Dalhousie University’s Clinical Psychology program, and a registered clinical psychologist. His research program investigates the role of personality in depression, anxiety, eating disorders, relationship problems, suicide, and substance misuse. Dr. Sherry also treats and assesses a variety of mental health difficulties. For more information on Dr. Sherry’s scientific research, see cruxpsychology.ca.

    Dr. Martin M. Smith obtained a PhD. in Personality Psychology from the University of Western Ontario and is an associate editor of Personality and Individual Differences. As of submission, Dr. Smith has published 48 peer-reviewed journal articles and has received over 200,000$ (CAN) in research grants. Dr. Smith was a permanent lecturer in the School of Science, Technology, and Health at York St John University from 2018 to 2020. Currently, Dr. Smith is pursuing a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of British Columbia under the supervisor of Dr. Paul Hewitt.

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