Vekas Eva J, Wade Tracey D
School of Psychology, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Br J Clin Psychol. 2017 Nov;56(4):458-473. doi: 10.1111/bjc.12152. Epub 2017 Jul 31.
Perfectionism is considered to be an underlying mechanism of relevance to a broad array of indicators of psychological distress. The current research examined the impact of a three-session intervention targeting perfectionism in children on perfectionism, self-criticism, and well-being.
The design of the current study can be considered quasi-experimental as the intervention and control classes were not randomly allocated but decided by convenience factors at the school level.
Students (aged 10.08-12.79 years) were allocated to the intervention (N = 107, 41 boys) or control condition (N = 105, 33 boys), completing self-report assessments on perfectionism, self-criticism, and well-being at baseline, post-intervention, and 3-month follow-up.
At post-intervention, children in the intervention group had significantly lower perfectionism than the control group (d = 0.35, 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 0.07-0.62) and at 3-month follow-up had significantly higher levels of well-being (d = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.06-0.60). As predicted by theory, decreases in perfectionism mediated the relationship between condition and improved well-being.
This exploratory study provides evidence for the usefulness of a brief universal prevention programme targeting perfectionism. Future research should use more robust designs, explore longer-term effects, and the impact on a wider range of variables, including scholastic achievement.
Clinical implications Perfectionism linked with negative outcomes in children can be decreased in a classroom setting. Decreasing perfectionism leads to improved well-being in children. Limitations More rigorous designs along with better assessment of perfectionism are required in further evaluations. The impact of perfectionism on scholastic achievement in children requires further investigation.
完美主义被认为是与一系列心理困扰指标相关的潜在机制。当前研究考察了针对儿童完美主义的三阶段干预对完美主义、自我批评和幸福感的影响。
由于干预组和对照组并非随机分配，而是由学校层面的便利因素决定，因此本研究的设计可视为准实验性设计。
将学生（年龄在10.08 - 12.79岁之间）分为干预组（N = 107，41名男孩）或对照组（N = 105，33名男孩），在基线、干预后和3个月随访时完成关于完美主义、自我批评和幸福感的自我报告评估。
干预后，干预组儿童的完美主义水平显著低于对照组（d = 0.35，95%置信区间[CI]：0.07 - 0.62），在3个月随访时幸福感水平显著更高（d = 0.33，95% CI：0.06 - 0.60）。如理论所预测，完美主义的降低介导了干预条件与幸福感改善之间的关系。
这项探索性研究为针对完美主义的简短通用预防计划的有效性提供了证据。未来研究应采用更稳健的设计，探索长期效果，以及对更广泛变量的影响，包括学业成绩。
临床意义 在课堂环境中可以降低与儿童负面结果相关的完美主义。降低完美主义可改善儿童的幸福感。局限性 在进一步评估中需要更严格的设计以及对完美主义更好的评估。完美主义对儿童学业成绩的影响需要进一步研究。
