Sarah H. Mallinson-Howard

An independent effects approach to perfectionism in sport, dance, and exercise

A large portion of research that has examined perfectionism in sport, dance, and exercise has done so by examining the effects of dimensions of perfectionism separately and, in many cases, their unique effects. In this chapter, we describe this approach and provide a summary of research that has adopted it in sport, dance and exercise. In reviewing research, particular attention is given to studies that have examined the relationship between perfectionism and athlete burnout. This is because, more so than other outcomes, there are ample studies on which to draw that have examined this relationship. In addition, these studies illustrate nicely the divergent processes associated with dimensions of perfectionism. We conclude by offering a caveat to this approach that centres on the ‘perils of partialling’ and the importance of viewing ‘pure’ dimensions of perfectionism as potentially distinct from their original counterparts.

Multidimensional Perfectionism in Sport: A Meta-Analytical Review

The current study provides an updated and meta-analytical review of research examining multidimensional perfectionism in sport. In doing so, studies that report the relationships between perfectionistic strivings, perfectionistic concerns and a range of motivation, emotion/well-being, and performance criterion variables are examined. A literature search yielded 52 studies and 697 effect sizes for 29 criterion variables. Random effects models revealed that perfectionistic strivings displayed small-to-medium relationships with a mix of maladaptive and adaptive motivation and emotion/well-being, and a small-to-medium relationship with better performance. By contrast, perfectionistic concerns displayed a small-to-medium relationship with maladaptive motivation and emotion/well-being and were unrelated to performance. After controlling for the relationship between the two dimensions of perfectionism, the relationships displayed by residual perfectionistic strivings were indicative of it being less problematic, and the relationships displayed by residual perfectionistic concerns were indicative of it being more problematic than their unresidualized counterparts. There was also some preliminary evidence that some of the relationships were moderated by gender, age, sport type, and instrument. The findings suggest that perfectionistic concerns are clearly maladaptive for athletes, whereas perfectionistic strivings are complex and ambiguous.

Perfectionism and training distress in junior athletes: The mediating role of coping tendencies

Abstract Training distress occurs when athletes fail to cope with physiological and psychological stress and can be an early sign of overtraining syndrome. Recent research has found that perfectionism predicts increases in training distress in junior athletes over time. The current study provides the first empirical test of the possibility that coping tendencies mediate the perfectionism-training distress relationship. Adopting a cross-sectional design, 171 junior athletes (mean age = 18.1 years) completed self-report measures of perfectionistic strivings, perfectionistic concerns, problem-focused coping, avoidant coping, and training distress. Structural equation modelling revealed that avoidant coping mediated the positive relationship between perfectionistic concerns and training distress, and mediated the negative relationship between perfectionistic strivings and training distress. Problem-focused coping did not mediate any relationships between dimensions of perfectionism and training distress. The findings suggest that the tendency to use coping strategies aimed at avoiding stress may partly explain the relationship between perfectionism and training distress but the tendency to use, or not use, problem-focussed coping does not.