Reflections on Three Decades of Research on Multidimensional Perfectionism: An Introduction to the Special Issue on Further Advances in the Assessment of Perfectionism

Abstract

In this article, we introduce this second special issue on the assessment of perfectionism along with an overview of developments in the perfectionism field over the past 30 years following the shift to studying perfectionism as a multidimensional construct. We examine some key contributions over the past decade, including the proliferation of meta-analyses and apparent rise over time in the prevalence of self-oriented, other-oriented, and socially prescribed perfectionism. We also outline what we consider to be seven definitive truths about the perfectionism construct and how these themes are reflected in the articles that follow. This special issue includes papers that describe abbreviated measures of existing perfectionism scales as well as new measures. Other papers in this special issue demonstrate the need to supplement a trait approach with a focus on cognitive perfectionism and to evaluate key mediators of the association between perfectionism and depression. Other research illustrates the usefulness of supplementing the predominant variable-focused approach with a person-centered approach. Collectively, the papers address several significant issues and outline key directions for future research in the next decade of research on multidimensional perfectionism.