Het verband tussen perfectionisme en depressieve gevoelens bij adolescenten

Abstract

Objective In today’s society adolescents grow up with a lot of pressure to perform. This pressure can lead to a higher risk of developing perfectionism. This is alarming, because perfectionism may lead to developing depressive feelings. Depressive feelings form a serious threat to mental health. Therefore the aim of the present study was to examine the relation between perfectionism and depressive feelings among adolescents. Additionally, a distinction was made between self-oriented perfectionism (SOP) and socially prescribed perfectionism (SPP). Method The current cross-sectional study sample included 1444 adolescents between the ages of 11 and 15 from secondary schools in North-Brabant, The Netherlands. The adolescents completed online questionnaires, using the Children’s Depression Inventory 2 to measure depressive feelings, and the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale to measure perfectionism. Results Linear regression analyses revealed a significant, positive relationship between perfectionism and depressive feelings in adolescents. The results additionally showed that both self-oriented perfectionism and socially prescribed perfectionism are significant positively related to depressive feelings. Conclusion The findings of this study confirm the importance of perfectionism in depressive feelings. Both SOP and SPP should be taken into account when treating individuals with depressive feelings. The insights of this study may contribute to early detection of depressive feelings, since perfectionism appears to be a significant predictor of depressive feelings. This study also suggests that future research and interventions should focus on the maladaptive, self-critical component of perfectionism