s patients. The authors found that self-oriented perfectionism contributed to most of the variance in depression but not to anxiety. The authors concluded that findings were consistent with the multi-dimensional view, noting that:
Self-oriented perfectionism ought to be related to depression for several reasons. Self-oriented perfectionists' tendencies to set unrealistic standards and stringently evaluate their own performance increases not only the frequency of failure...but also personal impact and meaning of failure experiences. Because self-oriented perfectionists tend to equate self-worth with performance...falling short of self-imposed standards on a consistent basis may promote chronic deficits in self-esteem and self-evaluation. This suggests that these persons may generate their own failures and stressors, which make them particularly prone to depressive episodes. (p.100).
Similar findings were observed in an earlier study in which Hewitt and Flett (1990) assessed depression and perfectionism in a sample of 150 university students; this using three different measures of depression. The authors reported that self-oriented perfectionism and other-oriented perfectionism (but not world-oriented perfectionism) were positively correlated with severity of depression.
Also, in their assessment of the multi-dimensional construct of perfectionism and depression, Hewitt and Dyck (1986) reported that not only was there a positive correlation between self- and other-oriented perfectionism and severity of depression but that stressful life events were more likely to elevate depression levels in perfectionistic thinkers than in non-perfectionistic thinkers.
In order to understand the relevance of the perfectionism-depression relationship for the learning disabled, it is important to note that estimates of depression in childhood in general and in learning disabled children in particular are high (Maag & Behrens, 1989). More...