Perfectionism and Precompetition Emotions in Youth Footballers: A Three-Wave Longitudinal Test of the Mediating Role of Perfectionistic Cognitions

Perfectionism, disordered eating and well-being in aesthetic sports: The mediating role of passion

Aesthetic athletes face higher risks of disordered eating, and perfectionism is one of the determinants involved. While research suggests that perfectionism in sport may play a role in physical and psychological well-being, its influence remains to be confirmed. As such, further examination of the influence of perfectionism on health is warranted as it could lead to better interventions. This preregistered research sought to shed new light on these relationships by investigating the mediating role of passion in the perfectionism-disordered eating relationship as well as physical and psychological well-being in aesthetic sports. In Study 1, 229 American recreational and competitive athletes practicing either gymnastics (n = 150) or artistic swimming (n = 79) were recruited on MTurk to complete an online questionnaire. The same recruitment procedure was used for Study 2, with 107 American gymnasts (n = 69) and artistic swimmers (n = 38) completing the questionnaire at two timepoints, one year apart. Results from path analyses showed that socially prescribed perfectionism was associated with obsessive passion, which in turn was associated with disordered eating. Self-oriented perfectionism was associated with both obsessive and harmonious passion, the latter being more adaptative as it was associated with physical and psychological well-being. Thus, the way one engages in aesthetic sports matters, as engaging with obsessive passion may take a toll on one's health and lead to disordered eating. Conversely, fostering harmonious engagement seems to temper the negative associations between perfectionism and health outcomes and promote positive relationships with athlete's well-being, but requires further study.

Perfectionism and performance in a trail running competition: a prospective study of the interactive effects of perfectionism

Several studies explored the links between perfectionism and sport performance. However, only a few studies examined this relationship in the context of real sport competition and with a focus on the possible interactive effects of the dimensions of perfectionism. The present study aimed to investigate whether the two higher-order dimensions of perfectionism - perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns - interact in predicting performance in mountain trail running competitions. 167 athletes (54 females, 113 males) aged 19 to 65 (M = 39.32, SD = 9.35) completed measures of perfectionism in the week prior to the competition. Regression analyses revealed that perfectionistic strivings were a positive predictor of the runners' performance while perfectionistic concerns showed no significant associations with performance. However, a more in-depth exploration within the framework of the 2 × 2 model of perfectionism showed that the beneficial effects of high perfectionistic strivings are no longer significant when accompanied by high levels of perfectionistic concerns. These results support the notion that perfectionistic concerns may be detrimental to sport performance even if their overall, direct effects are not significant, adding first evidence of the existence of standard but also flipped perfectionistic tipping points in the context of sport performance.

Profiles of Perfectionistic Automatic Thoughts and Aggression

In recent years, the study of perfectionistic automatic thoughts (PAT) has increased given its maladaptive nature since it is link to numerous psychological disorders. From our knowledge, no previous research has addressed the relationship between PAT and the four components of aggressive behavior (anger, hostility, verbal aggression, and physical aggression. This study had a double goal. The first aim was to identify distinct profiles of PAT in a sample of 3060 Ecuadorian undergraduates (Mage=22.7, SD = 2.46. The second aim of this study was to determine whether or not statistically significant differences exist between these profiles, based on the four components of aggressive behavior. The Perfectionism Cognitions Inventory (PCI) and the Aggression Questionnaire (AQ) were used. Five profiles with different intensities in the dimensions of perfectionistic automatic thoughts were identified by Latent Class Analysis (1. No-Perfectionistic Automatic Thoughts, 2. Low Perfectionistic Automatic Thoughts, 3. High Perfectionistic Demands, 4. Moderate Perfectionistic Automatic Thoughts, and 5. High Perfectionistic Automatic Thoughts). The moderate and high perfectionistic automatic thoughts profiles obtained the highest mean scores for all components of aggressive behavior (i.e., the four factors that make up AQ: Physical Aggression, Verbal Aggression, Anger, and Hostility), while the No-perfectionistic automatic thoughts and Low perfectionistic automatic thoughts profiles had the lowest mean scores. These results provide new knowledge about the prevalence of PAT in the context of Ecuador. Also, they suggest further research on the topic given the positive relationship of PAT and aggressive behavior.

Perfectionism and Attitudes Toward Sport Psychology Support and Mental Health Support in Athletes

Attitudes toward help-seeking will contribute to whether athletes ask for support for performance and mental health issues when needed. While research outside of sport has found perfectionism is related to negative attitudes toward help-seeking, no studies have examined the relationship in sport. The authors provided the first test of whether perfectionism predicted attitudes toward both sport psychology support and mental health support. One hundred and sixty-six collegiate athletes completed measures of perfectionism and attitudes toward sport psychology support and mental health support. Multiple regression analyses revealed that perfectionistic concerns positively predicted closedness and stigma toward sport psychology support and mental health support, and negatively predicted help-seeking toward mental health support. However, perfectionistic strivings negatively predicted stigma toward sport psychology support and mental health support, and positively predicted confidence in sport psychology support and help-seeking toward mental health support. Athletes higher in perfectionistic concerns are less likely to seek support when required.

A three-sample study of perfectionism and field test performance in athletes

Field tests are commonly used by sport scientists for performance monitoring and evaluation. While perfectionism predicts performance in a range of contexts, it is currently unclear whether perfectionism predicts performance in such tests. To address this lack of understanding, the present study examined the relationships between perfectionism and fitness-based field test performance across three athlete samples. After completing a measure of perfectionism (striving for perfection and negative reactions to imperfection), sample one (n = 129 student athletes) participated in a series of countermovement jumps and 20-metre sprint trials, sample two (n = 136 student athletes) participated in an agility task, and sample three (n = 116 junior athletes) participated in the Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test (level one). Striving for perfection predicted better sprint and Yo-Yo test performance. Negative reactions to imperfection predicted worse sprint performance. Mini meta-analyses of the combined data (N = 381) showed that striving for perfection was positively related to performance (r⁺  = .24), but negative reactions to imperfection was unrelated to performance (r⁺  = -.05). The present findings indicate that striving for perfection may predict better fitness-based field test performance, while negative reactions to imperfection appears to be ambiguous.

Psychometric Properties of the Perfectionism Cognitions Inventory in Ecuador

Perfectionistic Automatic Thoughts (PATs) are currently being studied due to their association with maladaptive variables. This study aims to validate the Spanish version of the Perfectionism Cognitions Inventory (PCI) in a sample of Ecuadorian undergraduates as well as to analyze latent mean differences across sex. The sample was composed by 3060 undergraduates (Mage = 22.7, SD = 2.46). The Spanish model of the PCI composed by 17 items divided into three first-order dimensions (perfectionistic concerns, strivings, and demands) and a second-order factor was supported by confirmatory factor analysis. Acceptable levels of reliability and factorial invariance across sex were observed. Higher latent mean scores for males in comparison with females in the second-order factor of the PCI were found. The three dimensions of the PCI significantly and positively correlated with interpersonal difficulties. Overall, results demonstrate that the Spanish version of the PCI is a valid and reliable measure to evaluate PATs in Ecuadorian undergraduates.

Profiles of Perfectionistic Ruminations in Undergraduates: Impact on the Spontaneous Use of Mental Images

Perfectionistic Automatic Thoughts (PAT) negatively affects people who present it. Hence the importance of their study to determine possible ways of reduction. The current study tried to identify PAT profiles and specify the statistically significant differences in the Spontaneous Use of Mental Imaging in 647 undergraduates. For this the Perfectionism Cognitions Inventory and the Spontaneous Use of Imagery Scale were used. The cluster analyses showed three groups of PATs; low (LPAT), moderate (MPAT) and high (HPAT). An analysis of variance revealed moderate size differences in the visual-spatial capacity as well as in the total of the Spontaneous Use of Mental Images for MPAT and LPAT. Implications for the training of future teachers related to the use of mental imagery that can reduce maladaptive PAT are discussed.