Family Profiles of Maladaptive Perfectionists among Asian International Students

Abstract

Maladaptive perfectionists with high perfectionistic standards and discrepancy are at risk for negative psychological outcomes. Among Asian international students, family perfectionism is an important concern due to cultural values concerning honoring familial expectations, conformity, and fulfilling obligations for scholastic achievement. This study examined 190 Asian international students in the United States that prescreened as having maladaptive perfectionism. Among them, hierarchical and k-means cluster analyses revealed three types of perfectionistic families: adaptive, maladaptive, and nonperfectionistic. A oneway analysis of variance revealed that participants from maladaptive families experienced higher depression, general anxiety, and suicidal ideation than those from adaptive or nonperfectionistic families. Those from maladaptive or nonperfectionistic families reported higher social anxiety, academic distress, eating concerns, and lower life satisfaction than those from adaptive families. These findings highlight the importance of maladaptive perfectionists’ family backgrounds in understanding Asian international student mental health. Clinical and theoretical implications are discussed.