Perfectionism, Stressful Life Events, and the 1-Year Outcome of Depression

Abstract:

Previous research has suggested that dimensions of perfectionism may interact with matching stressors to predict depression, but only one longitudinal study has evaluated such interactions in a clinical sample. This study evaluated whether Hewitt and Flett's perfectionism specific vulnerability model (1993) could account for persistence of depression symptoms over a 1-year period in a group of 157 outpatients with major depressive disorder. All analyses controlled for Time 1 depression symptoms. The main findings were that self-oriented perfectionism interacted with achievement related but not interpersonal life events to predict nonremission at Time 2. The interaction between self-oriented perfectionism and achievement-related life events predicted Time 2 BDI scores at a trend level only (p = .06). Socially prescribed perfectionism was strongly associated with concurrent depression symptoms at Time 1, but did not interact with interpersonal or achievement life events to predict Time 2 outcome and did not predict Time 2 outcome as a main effect. The results provide support for the role of perfectionism in the persistence of depression and for the specific role of self-oriented perfectionism in vulnerability to depression in the context of achievement life events.

Keywords: perfectionism; depression; life events; vulnerability

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1007/s10608-005-2414-8

Affiliations: 1: Department of Psychiatry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Email: menns@exchange.hsc.mb.ca 2: Department of Psychiatry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada,