The Mediating Role of Ego Strength in the Relationship between Dimensions of Perfectionism and Depressive Symptoms

Subject Areas : Clinical psychology

Mohammad Ali  Besharat ¹ (University of Tehran)
Mohammad Mahdi  Asadi ² (DEPARTMENT)
Masoud  Gholmali Lavasani ³ (UNIVERSITY)

Received: 2017-06-10 Accepted : 2017-06-10 Published : 2017-03-21

Keywords: Depression, Mood, emotion, perfectionism, ego strength,

Abstract :

The aim of the present study was to investigate the mediating role of ego strength in the relationship between dimensions of perfectionism and depressive symptoms. The sample consisted of 268 students (144 females, 124 males) from the University of Tehran. All participants completed the Tehran Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (TMPS; Besharat, 2007), the Depression Anxiety Stress scales (DASS-21; Lavibond & Lavibond, 1995), and the Ego Strength Scale (ESS; Besharat, 2016). The results indicated that self-oriented perfectionism was negatively related to depressive symptoms and other-oriented/socially prescribed perfectionism was positively related to depressive symptoms. There was a significant negative relationship between ego strength and depressive symptoms. Ego strength mediated the relationship between dimensions of perfectionism and depressive symptoms. The findings suggested that the relationship between dimensions of perfectionism and depressive symptoms was not linear and unidimensional and ego strength played a mediating role in the relationship between the two

References:

منابع

بشارت، م. ع. (1384). بررسی ویژگی های روانسنجی مقیاس افسردگی اضطراب تنیدگی (DASS-21) در نمونه‎های بالینی و جمعیت عمومی. گزارش پژوهشی، دانشگاه تهران.

بشارت، م. ع. (1386). ساخت­ و اعتباریابی مقیاس کمال­گرایی­چند بعدی ­تهران. پژوهش‎های روان­شناختی، 19، 67-49.

بشارت، م. ع. (1395). ساخت و اعتباریابی مقیاس استحکام من. مجله علوم روان‎شناختی، 58، زیر چاپ.

بشارت، م. ع.، علی‎بخشی، س. ز.، عسگری، ع. و موحدی نسب، ع. ا. (1389). کمال­گرایی و سلامت جسمانی اثر واسطه‎ای عواطف مثبت و منفی. روان­شناسی تحولی: روان‎شناسان ایرانی، 7(26)، 136- 123.

Alloy, L. B., Abramson, L. Y., Keyser, J., Gerstein, R. K., & Sylvia, L. G. (2008). Negative cognitive style. In K. S. Dobson, & D. Dozois (Eds), Risk factors for depression (237-262). New York: Academic Press.

Antony, M. M., Bieling, P. J., Cox, B. J., Enns, M. W., & Swinson, R. P. (1998). Psychometric properties of the 42-item and 21-item versions of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) in clinical groups and a community sample. Psychological Assessment, 10, 176-181.

Barnhofer, T., & Chittka, T. (2010). Cognitive reactivity mediates the relationship between neuroticism and depression. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 48, 275-281.

Bauer, J. J., Schwab, J. R. & McAdams, D. P. (2011). Self-actualizing: Where ego development finally feels good? The Humanistic Psychologist, 39, 1-15.

Besharat, M. A., & Shahidi, S. (2011). What is the relationship between alexithymia and ego defense styles? A correlational study with Iranian students. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 4, 145-149.

Block, J. (2002). Personality as an affect-processing system: Toward an integrative theory: Psychology Press.

Black, J., & Reynolds, W. M. (2013). Examining the relationship of perfectionism, depression, and optimism: Testing for mediation and moderation. Personality and Individual Differences, 54, 426-431.

Brown, T. A., Chorpita, B. F., Korotitsch, W., & Barlow, D. H. (1997). Psychometric properties of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) in clinical samples. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 35, 79-89.

Carvalho, A. F., Hyphantis, T. N., Taunay, T. C., Macêdo, D. S., Floros, G. D., Ottoni, G. L., et al. (2013). The relationship between affective temperaments, defensive styles and depressive symptoms in a large sample. Journal of Affective Disorders, 146, 58-65.

Chu, D. A., Williams, L. M., Harris, A. W., Bryant, R. A., & Gatt, J. M. (2013). Early life trauma predicts self-reported levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms in nonclinical community adults: Relative contributions of early life stressor types and adult trauma exposure. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 47, 23-32.

Cramer, P. (2012). Psychological maturity and change in adult defense mechanisms. Journal of Research in Personality, 46, 306-316.

Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) and NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) professional manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.

Daza, P., Novy, D. M., Stanley, M. A., & Averill, P. (2002). The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21: Spanish translation and validation with a Hispanic sample. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 24, 195-205.

Di Schiena, R., Luminet, O., Philippot, P., & Douilliez, C. (2012). Adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism in depression: Preliminary evidence on the role of adaptive and maladaptive rumination. Personality and Individual Differences, 53, 774-778.

Douilliez, C., & Lefèvre, F. (2011). Interactive effect of perfectionism dimensions on depressive symptoms: A reply to. Personality and Individual Differences, 50, 1147-1151.

Dunkley, D. M., Sanislow, C. A., Grilo, C. M., & McGlashan, T. H. (2006). Perfectionism and depressive symptoms 3 years later: Negative social interactions, avoidant coping, and perceived social support as mediators. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 47, 106-115.

Eglinton, R., & Chung, M. C. (2011). The relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder, illness cognitions, defense styles, fatigue severity and psychological well-being in chronic fatigue syndrome. Psychiatry Research, 188, 245-252.

Enns, M. W., & Cox, B. J. (1999). Perfectionism and depression symptom severity in major depressive disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 37, 783-794.

Flett, G. L., & Hewitt, P. L. (2002). Perfectionism: Theory, research, and treatment. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Flett, G. L., & Hewitt, P. L. (2015). Measures of perfectionism. In G. J. Boyle, D. H. Saklofske, G. Matthews, G. J. Boyle, D. H. Saklofske, G. Matthews (Eds.), Measures of personality and social psychological constructs (pp. 595-618). San Diego, CA, US: Elsevier Academic Press. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-386915-9.00021-8

Frost, R. O., Marten, P., Lahart, C., & Rosenblate, R. (1990). The dimensions of perfectionism. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 14, 449-468.

Graham, A. R., Sherry, S. B., Stewart, S. H., Sherry, D. L., McGrath, D., Fossum, K., et al. (2010). The existential model of perfectionism and depressive symptoms: A short-term, four-wave longitudinal study. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 57, 423-438.

Gratz, K. L., & Roemer, L. (2004). Multidimensional assessment of emotion regulation and dysregulation: Development, factor structure, and initial validation of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 26, 41-54.

Harris, P. W., Pepper, C. M., & Maack, D. J. (2008). The relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and depressive symptoms: The mediating role of rumination. Personality and Individual Differences, 44, 150-160.

Hewitt, P. L., & Flett, G. L. (1991). Perfectionism in the self and social contexts: Conceptualization, assessment, and association with psychopathology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(3), 456.

Hewitt, P. L., Flett, G. L., Sherry, S. B., Habke, M., Parkin, M., Lam, R. W., et al. (2003). The interpersonal expression of perfection: perfec-tionistic self-presentation and psychological distress. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 1303-1353.

Horowitz, L. M., Rosenberg, S. E., Baer, B. A., Ureno, G., & Villasenor, V. S. (1988). Inventory of Interpersonal Problems: psychometric properties and clinical applications. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56, 885-892.

Iranzo-Tatay, C., Gimeno-Clemente, N., Barberá-Fons, M., Rodriguez-Campayo, M. Á., Rojo-Bofill, L., Livianos-Aldana, L., et al. (2015). Genetic and environmental contributions to perfectionism and its common factors. Psychiatry Research, 230, 932-939.

Jonsson, U., Bohman, H., von Knorring, L., Olsson, G., Paaren, A., & von Knorring, A. L. (2011). Mental health outcome of long-term and episodic adolescent depression: 15-year follow-up of a community sample. Journal of Affective Disorders, 130, 395-404.

Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal and coping. New York: Springer.

Lovibond, P. F. (1998). Long-term stability of depression, anxiety, and stress syndromes. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 107, 520-526.

Lovibond, S. H., & Lovibond, P. F. (1995). Manual for the depression anxiety stress scales. Sydney: Psychological Foundation Monograph.

Mathers, C. D., Stein, C., Ma Fat, D., Rao, C., Inoue, M., Tomijima, N., et al. (2002). Global burden of disease 2000: Version 2 methods and results: Geneva, World Health Organization.

Mathew, J., Dunning, C., Coats, C., & Whelan, T. (2014). The mediating influence of hope on multidimensional perfectionism and depression. Personality and Individual Differences, 70, 66-71.

Norton, P. J. (2007). Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21): Psychometric analysis across four racial groups. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 20, 253-265.

O'Connor, R. C., Rasmussen, S., & Hawton, K. (2010). Predicting depression, anxiety and self-harm in adolescents: The role of perfectionism and acute life stress. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 48, 52-59.

Otten, R., Barker, E. D., Maughan, B., Arseneault, L., & Engels, R. C. (2010). Self-control and its relation to joint developmental trajectories of cannabis use and depressive mood symptoms. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 112, 201-208.

Schuch, J. J., Roest, A. M., Nolen, W. A., Penninx, B. W., & de Jonge, P. (2014). Gender differences in major depressive disorder: Results from the Netherlands study of depression and anxiety. Journal of Affective Disorders, 156, 156-163.

Scott, R. M., Hides, L., Allen, J. S., & Lubman, D. I. (2013). Coping style and ecstasy use motives as predictors of current mood symptoms in ecstasy users. Addictive Behaviors, 38, 2465-2472.

Shahar, G., Blatt, S. J., Zuroff, D. C., & Pilkonis, P. A. (2003). Role of perfectionism and personality disorder features in response to brief treatment for depression. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 71, 629-633.

Sherry, S. B., Law, A., Hewitt, P. L., Flett, G. L., & Besser, A. (2008). Social support as a mediator of the relationship between perfectionism and depression: A preliminary test of the social disconnection model. Personality and Individual Differences, 45, 339-344.

Sherry, S. B., Richards, J. E., Sherry, D. L., & Stewart, S. H. (2014). Self-critical perfectionism is a vulnerability factor for depression but not anxiety: A 12-month, 3-wave longitudinal study. Journal of Research in Personality, 52, 1-5.

Singh, N., & Anand, A. (2015). Ego-Strength and Self Concept among adolescents: A Study on Gender Differences. International Journal of Indidan Psychology, 3, 46-54.

Slavich, G. M., Monroe, S. M., & Gotlib, I. H. (2011). Early parental loss and depression history: Associations with recent life stress in major depressive disorder. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 4, 1146-1152.

Soreni, N., Streiner, D., McCabe, R., Bullard, C., Swinson, R., Greco, A., et al. (2015). Dimensions of perfectionism in children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive Disorder. Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 23, 136-143.

Stoeber, J. (2015). How other-oriented perfectionism differs from self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism: Further findings. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 37, 611-623.

Sumi, K., & Kanda, K. (2002). Relationship between neurotic perfectionism, depression, anxiety, and psychosomatic symptoms: A prospective study among Japanese men. Personality and Individual Differences, 32, 817-826.

Tennant, C., Bebbington, P., & Hurry, J. (1980). Parental death in childhood and risk of adult depressive disorders: A review. Psychological Medicine, 10, 289-299.

Veit, C. T. & Ware, J. E. (1983). The structure of psychological distress and well-being in general population. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 51, 730-742.

Wang, K. T., Yuen, M., & Slaney, R. B. (2009). Perfectionism, depression, loneliness, and life satis-faction: A study of high school Students in Hong Kong. The Counseling Psychologist, 37, 249-274.

Watson, D., Clarke, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS Scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063-1070.

Weiner, I. B., Tennen, H. A., & Suls, J. M. (2012). Handbook of Psychology, Personality and Social Psychology. New Jersey: Wiley.

Wesselhoeft, R., Sørensen, M. J., Heiervang, E. R., & Bilenberg, N. (2013). Subthreshold depression in children and adolescents: A systematic review. Journal of Affective Disorders, 151, 7-22.

Wheeler, H. A., Blankstein, K. R., Antony, M., McCabe,
R. E., & Bieling, P. J. (2011). Perfectionism in anxiety and depression: Comparisons across disorders, relations with symptom severity, and role of comorbidity. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 4, 66-91.

Xu, Z. Y., Zu, S., Xiang, Y. T., Wang, N., Guo, Z. H., Kilbourne, A. M., et al. (2013). Associations of self-esteem, dysfunctional beliefs and coping style with depression in patients with schizophrenia: A pre-liminary survey. Psychiatry Research, 209, 340-345.

Zhang, B., & Cai, T. (2012). Coping styles and self-esteem as mediators of the perfectionism-depression relationship among Chinese under-graduates. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 40, 157-168.