Longitudinal effects of an intervention on perfectionism in adolescents.

Perfectionism is a personality disposition characterized by a person´s striving for flawlessness and the setting of excessively high performance standards. This trait has been associated with a broad range of psychopathological conditions. Consequently, prevention of its harmful effects must start early.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate if one group session to manage perfectionism has the effect of reducing the levels of this trait, two and six months later.

METHOD: A community-based sample of 978 Portuguese adolescents from three different high schools completed a self-reporting questionnaire including the Child and Adolescent Perfectionism Scale, before and after one skill session. Three groups were formed: the intervention group received a skill session aimed at reducing perfectionism; control group 1 received a skill session aimed at healthy habits, and control group 2 received no intervention.

RESULTS: At baseline, no significant mean differences were found by gender or by school in Total Perfectionism or its dimensions. After one session to manage Perfectionism, the intervention group showed significant reduction in self-oriented perfectionism (SOP) scores, two months (p = .001) and six months later (p = .02). No significant reductions were observed in the control groups.

DISCUSSION: Our findings suggest that adolescents are sensitive to short interventions aimed at reducing perfectionism.