The relationship between perfectionism and self-esteem in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Perfectionism dimensions, including perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns, have a significant positive association with psychopathology. Clinical perfectionism is defined as when an individual's self-esteem is excessively reliant on meeting high standards despite negative conse...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behavioural and cognitive psychotherapy 2024-11, Vol.52 (6), p.646-665
Main Authors: Khossousi, Viyona, Greene, Danyelle, Shafran, Roz, Callaghan, Thomas, Dickinson, Sheree, Egan, Sarah J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adults
Age
Agreements
Anxiety
Behavior therapy
Eating disorders
Humans
Longitudinal studies
Main
Mental depression
Meta-analysis
Obsessive compulsive disorder
Perfectionism
Psychopathology
Self Concept
Self esteem
Self evaluation
Systematic review
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Perfectionism dimensions, including perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns, have a significant positive association with psychopathology. Clinical perfectionism is defined as when an individual's self-esteem is excessively reliant on meeting high standards despite negative consequences. Numerous studies have found that higher perfectionistic concerns correlate with lower self-esteem; however, evidence for the association with perfectionistic strivings has been mixed. The focus of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to inform theoretical understanding of the relationships between perfectionism dimensions and self-esteem in adults. A systematic literature search was conducted in Medline, PsycINFO, PsychARTICLES, ProQuest Central, and Scopus on 31 May 2023. There were 83 articles included, with 32,304 participants ( =∼24.66 years). There was a significant negative moderate pooled association between self-esteem and perfectionistic concerns, =-.42, 95% CI [-0.47 to -0.38]. A significant negligible positive pooled association was found between self-esteem and perfectionistic strivings, =.06, 95% CI [0.01 to 0.11]. Results indicate higher perfectionistic concerns is associated with lower self-esteem, providing indirect support for the cognitive-behavioural model of clinical perfectionism. Future research should compare cognitive behaviour therapy for perfectionism to treatments for low self-esteem on outcomes of perfectionistic concerns and psychopathology.
ISSN:1352-4658
1469-1833
1469-1833
DOI:10.1017/S1352465824000249