PERFECTIONISM, LIFE EVENTS, AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS - A TEST OF A DIATHESIS-STRESS MODEL

The present research tested the hypothesis that perfectionists who exp erience stress are vulnerable to depression, in part because negative life events represent a failure to maintain control over negative outc omes. In Study 1, 215 subjects completed the Multidimensional Perfecti onism Scale (MPS) and control measures. The MPS assesses self-oriented , other-oriented, and socially prescribed perfectionism. It was confir med that self-oriented and other-oriented perfectionism were associate d with both higher desire for control and greater perceived personal c ontrol. Study 2 examined whether trait levels of perfectionism moderat e the link between life stress and symptoms of depression. In addition , prospective analyses investigated whether perfectionism accounts for changes in levels of depressive symptomatology over time. Two samples comprised of 374 students (Sample 1) and 173 students (Sample 2) comp leted the MPS and measures of major life stress and depression symptom s. Subjects in Sample 2 completed these measures at two timepoints sep arated by a three-month interval. Regression analyses indicated that s elf-oriented perfectionism and life stress interact significantly to p roduce higher levels of depressive symptomatology. Moreover, in Sample 2, self-oriented perfectionism at Time 1 was associated with increase s in depression symptoms three months later for those individuals who had experienced a major life event. The results provide support for di athesis-stress models, which maintain that perfectionists exposed to l ife stress are vulnerable to symptoms of depression. The results are d iscussed in terms of their implications for the study of personality, stress, and vulnerability to symptoms of depression.