Perfectionism, Psychological Distress, and Career Indecision Among Chinese College Students

Abstract: To aid in developing effective interventions on perfectionism, it is important to understand how different types of perfectionism may relate to psychological outcomes and identify possible mechanism explaining their relationships among Chinese college students. To address the problem, the present study examined (a) how adaptive perfectionism and maladaptive perfectionism were associated with psychological distress and career indecision among Chinese college students and (b) how coping mediated the relationships between two forms of perfectionism and psychological distress and career indecision. The results of path analysis models using a sample of Chinese college students (total n = 389) indicated that (a) maladaptive perfectionism was positively associated with psychological distress ( r = .48) and career indecision ( r = .31), while adaptive perfectionism was not associated with psychological distress ( r = .12) and career indecision ( r = −.05); (b) coping served as a suppressor and fully mediated the relationships between adaptive perfectionism and psychological distress ( Bid = −.07, p < .01, CI99.5 = −.17, −.04) and career indecision ( Bid = −.11, p < .001, CI99.5 = −.12, −.01); and (c) coping partially mediated the relationships between maladaptive perfectionism and psychological distress ( Bid = .08, p < .01, CI99.5 = .02, .15) and career indecision ( Bid = .14, p < .001, CI99.5 = .06, .21). The findings suggest that different forms of perfectionism relate to psychological outcomes differently and coping is critical in explaining how perfectionism relates to psychological outcomes. Therefore, perfectionism interventions should consider the characteristics of two forms of perfectionism and the role of coping.