Relation of Depression and Perfectionism

In the last decade, there has been an increased focus on the personality trait known as perfectionism (Carson, 1989). In this regard, Hewitt and Flett (1990) have reported that perfectionism can be conceptualized in terms of three broad categories of thought:

(1) Self-Oriented Perfectionism - This category of perfectionistic thought is intrapersonal; it is characterized by an intense motivation to view self as perfect. Thus, there is a motivational aspect of perfectionism. The self-oriented perfectionist strives for attainment of unrealistic self-standards which he or she generalizes to all realms of personal behavior. There is a tendency to focus on personal flaws when one fails to live up to the high standards set for self.

(2) Other-Oriented Perfectionism - This aspect of perfectionistic thinking is one in which unrealistic standards of performance are displaced from self onto significant others. When others do not meet these standards, there is dissatisfaction and loss of pleasure in social relations.

(3) World-Oriented/Socially Prescribed Perfectionism - This aspect of perfectionistic thinking is global, and is characterized by the irrational belief that there are precise, correct, and perfect solutions to all human and world problems. Hewitt and Flett (1990) note that world-oriented perfectionism, sometimes termed "s

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cores on the subscales of the Multi-dimensional Perfectionism Scale developed by Hewitt and Flett (1990, 1991). Organization of the Remainder of the Proposal This chapter of the proposal delineated and discussed the basic nature of the study. To this end, the general research problem and purposes were described. Also, definitions were provided and boundaries were delimited. The second chapter presents a review of the pertinent literature. In this regard, the review will examine studies of depression in learning disabled populations as well as studies of perfectionism and its relationship to depression. There will also be a brief discussion of studies of academic achievement (as indexed by GPA) and their relevance for childhood depression. Chapter 2 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Introduction The proposed study will examine for relationships between perfectionistic thinking and depression in a sample of learning disabled children. So that the study may be placed in the context of pertinent work in the field, this chapter will examine several areas of the literature. These areas consist of research related to: (1) prevalence, assessment and diagnosis of learning disabilities; (2) depression and learning disabilities; and
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Approximate Word count = 6844
Approximate Pages = 27 (250 words per page)

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