Maladaptive Perfectionism at School: Development and Validation of the Studyrelated Perfectionism Scale

Abstract

There are many instruments for evaluating perfectionism. However, there are few instruments for evaluating maladaptive perfectionism in the school context specifically, and there is no brief instrument for use across different school levels. Hence, we created the Study-related Perfectionism Scale (SPS), which evaluates the potentially maladaptive combination of high perfectionistic strivings and concerns related to study through five items. We conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses on 804 Italian college students (Mage = 24.01 ± 4.35) and 310 Italian adolescents (Mage = 16.15 ± 1.60) from secondary schools of second grade. After evaluating factor structure, we performed convergent validity analyses. We found support for the SPS as a 5-item, one-factor instrument with good psychometric properties. The SPS may be used in future research and to develop preventive interventions for improving students’ well-being and academic performance.

Keywords

• academic perfectionism
• school perfectionism
• perfectionistic strivings
• perfectionistic concerns
• studyholism