Perfectionism: secondary pupils’ perceptions of pressures contributing to perfectionism, and its relationship with emotional wellbeing

This sequential mixed methods study explored experiences and perceptions of perfectionism in a sample of secondary aged children and adolescents. Phase 1 assessed the relationship between different domains of perfectionism and depression and anxiety in 114 pupils reporting high levels of perfectionism aged between 11–15 years (M = 12.73) attending six secondary schools in two English counties. Phase 2 employed thematic analysis (TA) to explore factors pupils perceived as drivers of their perfectionism. Six participants (four females, two males) participated in this qualitative phase (M = 13 years old). For phase 1, multiple regressions showed that self-oriented perfectionism-critical (SOP-C) contributed significantly to depression and anxiety. Socially prescribed perfectionism (SPP) contributed significantly to depression, whereas self-oriented perfectionism-striving (SOP-S) did not significantly contribute to either. For phase 2, factors perceived to impact on pupils’ perfectionism were represented by seven themes. Findings build our understanding of childhood perfectionism, what children and young people (CYP) perceive the sources of perfectionism to be, helping explain links between perfectionism and negative outcomes with greater precision. Implications for practice and further research are discussed.