PERFECTIONISM AND DEPRESSION AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

Abstract

In this study, the connection between perfectionism and depression among high school students was examined. A group of 90 high school students (48 males, 42 females) completed: the Almost perfect scale-revised (Slaney, Mobley, Trippi, Ashby &Johnson, 1996) and the Beck depression Inventory (Beck,T.A., 1996). The Almost Perfect Scale-Revised (APS-R), contains three variables: High Standards, Order, and Discrepancy. The first two variables (High Standards, Order) are related to adaptive perfectionism, while the third one (Discrepancy) refers to maladaptive perfectionism. Two hypotheses were tested: 1. high level of adaptive perfectionism is followed by reduced depression; 2. there is no difference between males and females related to perfectionism and depression among high school students. To analyze data, Pearson's correlation and t-test were employed. Results indicate that by increasing the adaptive perfectionism, depression is reduced (r 88)=-.24, p<.05); by increasing the maladaptive perfectionism, depression is increased (r(88)=.22, p<.05); analysis revealed no significant differences between genders regarding depression(t(88)=1.10, p>.05) and regarding maladaptive perfectionism (t(88)=1.14, p>.05), while in terms of adaptive perfectionism, the results indicated significant differences between genders (t(88)=1.93, p<.05).