مطالعات اجتماعی روان‌شناختی زنان (Jun 2023)

Causal Explanation of Girls Perfectionism Based on the Dark Traits of Personality, Contingent Self-Worth and Academic Self-Efficacy

  • Tohid Ashrafzade,
  • Siavash Sheikhalizadeh

DOI
https://doi.org/10.22051/jwsps.2023.41294.2664
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 21, no. 2
pp. 151 – 178

Abstract

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Perfectionism is a prevalent and severe problem among adolescents. One of the goals of psychological research is to identify the variables associated with it. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the mediating role of academic self-efficacy in the relationship between dark personality traits, conditional self-worth, and girls' perfectionism. The study was descriptive, and the research design was correlational using a type of structural equation. The statistical population included all female second-year high school students in Orumieh during the academic year 2021-2022, from which 204 individuals were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling. Data were collected using Jones and Paulhus's Dark Traits of Personality Scale (2014), Cracker et al.'s Contingent Self-Worth Scale (2003), Patrick, Hicks Ryan's Academic Self-Efficacy Scale (1997), and Frost et al.'s Perfectionism Scale (1990). The data were analyzed using Lisrel software, and the proposed model was evaluated through structural equation modeling. The findings of this study showed that dark personality traits, conditional self-worth, and academic self-efficacy were directly related to students' perfectionism. Furthermore, the dark personality traits and conditional self-worth were indirectly related to students' perfectionism through academic self-efficacy. These results support the mediating role of academic self-efficacy in the causal relationship between dark personality traits and conditional self-worth on perfectionism. ‌ Perfectionism, Dark Traits of Personality, Contingent Self-Worth, Academic Self-Efficacy ‌ ‌Introduction Perfectionism is considered a multidimensional personality construct characterized by the setting of excessively high goals, frequent thoughts regarding the achievement of those goals, and overly harsh self-criticism (Blackburn & et al., 2022). One of the factors that affect perfectionism is academic self-efficacy (Kilmen, 2022), which is one of the self-efficacy types defined as a student's belief in their capability to successfully attain educational goals (Hitches, Woodcock & Ehrich, 2022). Various studies have shown a direct and significant relationship between academic self-efficacy and perfectionism (Yoon, Park & Ju, 2021). ‌Furthermore, studies have shown that perfectionism and academic self-efficacy can be affected by the dark traits of personality (Tankut & Bilge, 2021), which are defined as the general tendency to maximize one's utility by disregarding, accepting, or malevolently provoking disutility for others - accompanied by beliefs that serve as justifications (Zettler & et al., 2022). Another factor affecting perfectionism and academic self-efficacy is contingent self-worth (Khorami Nejad & Jahan, 2020), which describes people's perceptions of what they need to do or what they need to be or act like to attain value and worth as a person (Lopez & Polletta, 2021). Considering the relationship between these variables, the present study aims to investigate the relationship between the dark traits of personality, contingent self-worth, and perfectionism with the mediating role of academic self-efficacy. Methodology This study is descriptive with a correlational design of structural equation modeling. We used Lisrel software to analyze the data. The statistical population comprised all female second high school students of Urmia in the academic year 2021-2022, among whom 204 individuals were selected by random cluster sampling. In this study, the following questionnaires were used to collect data: Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (Frost & et al., 1990): This questionnaire consists of 35 items in 6 subscales. Cronbach's alpha of 0.82 for concern over mistakes, 0.74 for parent expectations, 0.70 for parental criticism, 0.84 for doubting of actions, 0.91 for personal standards, and 0.90 for organization confirmed the reliability of this instrument. Academic Self-efficacy Questionnaire (Patrick, Hicks & Ryan, 1997). This scale has five items. Cronbach's alpha of 0.94 confirmed the reliability of this instrument in the present study. Short Dark Triad Scale (Jones & Paulhus, 2014). This questionnaire consists of 27 items in 3 subscales. Cronbach's alpha of 0.75 for Machiavellianism, 0.71 for Psychopathy, and 0.73 for Narcissism confirmed the reliability of this instrument. Contingent self-worth Scale (Cracker & et al., 2003). This questionnaire consists of 35 items and 7 subscales. Cronbach's alpha of 0.92 confirmed the reliability of this instrument in the present study. Findings According to the results, the direct effect of dark personality traits on academic self-efficacy, negative perfectionism, and positive perfectionism was (-0.34), (0.30), and (-0.28), respectively, all of which were significant at P<0.001. The direct effect of contingent self-worth on academic self-efficacy, negative perfectionism, and positive perfectionism was (0.31, P<0.001), (-0.21, P<0.01), (0.27, P<0.001), respectively. The direct effect of academic self-efficacy on negative perfectionism and positive perfectionism was (-0.21, P<0.01) and (0.16, P<0.05), respectively. The dark traits of personality indirectly and significantly affected negative perfectionism (0.07, P<0.01) and positive perfectionism (-0.06, P<0.01) with the mediating role of academic self-efficacy. Contingent self-worth indirectly and significantly affected negative perfectionism (-0.06, P<0.01) with the mediating role of academic self-efficacy. The results showed that the model of the present study has a good fit. Result The results showed that the dark traits of personality, contingent self-worth, and academic self-efficacy are directly related to students' perfectionism. Also, the results of this study revealed that the dark traits of personality and contingent self-worth indirectly and through academic self-efficacy relate to the students' perfectionism. It is suggested that future studies examine the role of other factors affecting perfectionism. ‌

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