Mediating Effects of Emotion Dysregulation and Negative Perfectionism on the Link Between Adverse Parenting and Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder Traits

Wanyi Cao,1,2 Yanhong Bao1,2 1School of Psychology, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330022, People’s Republic of China; 2Center of Mental Health Education and Research, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330022, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Wanyi Cao, School of Psychology, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330022, People’s Republic of China, Email wanyicao@jxnu.edu.cnObjective: Previous research has established adverse parental rearing as a significant risk factor for obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD). This study investigated whether maladaptive emotion regulation strategies and negative perfectionism serve as psychological mechanisms underlying this association, with particular attention to potential sequential mediation pathways.Methods: This study adopted a cross-sectional design and multi-channel convenience sampling approach. A sample of 827 Chinese university students completed standardized measures assessing OCPD features (OCPD subscale of Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire‐4+, PDQ‐4+), parental rearing styles (short-form Egna Minnenav Barndoms Uppfostran, s-EMBU), emotion regulation strategies (Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, CERQ), and perfectionism traits (Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, FMPS). We employed structural equation modeling based on Mplus 8.3 to examine both direct effects of adverse parenting on OCPD and indirect effects mediated through emotion regulation and perfectionism.Results: Path analysis revealed a significant direct effect of adverse parenting on OCPD features (β=0.160, p< 0.001). The primary indirect pathway demonstrated sequential mediation: adverse parenting was associated with maladaptive emotion regulation, which predicted increased negative perfectionism, ultimately contributing to OCPD (β=0.041, p=0.006). Parallel pathways were also observed through either maladaptive emotion regulation (β=0.085, p=0.007) or negative perfectionism (β=0.052, p=0.012). The proposed mediation model explained a substantial proportion (52.66%) of the variance in OCPD features, underscoring the critical role of these psychological mechanisms in the development of OCPD pathology.Conclusion: These findings reveal that adverse parenting contributes to OCPD both directly and through a sequential emotional-cognitive pathway where poor emotion regulation fosters perfectionist attitudes. This study identifies modifiable psychological processes—emotion regulation and perfectionism—as promising targets for early intervention aimed at reducing OCPD risk in individuals exposed to negative parenting.Keywords: adverse parental rearing, maladaptive emotion regulation, negative perfectionism, obsessive-compulsive personality feature