Self-compassion moderates the perfectionism and depression link in both adolescence and adulthood

@article{ferrari2018self,
  author = {Ferrari, Madeleine and Yap, Keong and Scott, Nicole and Einstein, Danielle A. and Ciarrochi, Joseph},
  title = {Self-compassion moderates the perfectionism and depression link in both adolescence and adulthood},
  year = {2018},
  journal = {PLOS ONE},
  editor = {van Amelsvoort, Therese},
  volume = {13},
  number = {2},
  pages = {e0192022},
  publisher = {Public Library of Science (PLoS)},
  doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0192022}
}

In plain language

Perfectionism can be toxic. People whose self-worth hinges on impossibly high standards are more likely to become depressed. Therapists often try to change perfectionistic thoughts directly, but this study explored a different possibility: what if we change a person's relationship to those thoughts instead? Self-compassion — treating yourself with the same kindness you would offer a friend when you fall short — might soften the blow of perfectionism without needing to eliminate it.

The researchers surveyed two samples spanning much of the lifespan: 541 adolescents (average age 14) completing questionnaires at high school, and 515 adults (average age 25) recruited through university and online. Both groups completed age-appropriate measures of maladaptive perfectionism, depression, and self-compassion.

In both samples, self-compassion buffered the perfectionism–depression link. Highly self-compassionate people were less affected by their maladaptive perfectionism than those low in self-compassion, and the size of this buffering effect was virtually identical in teenagers and adults. The finding supports the "compassionate context" model aligned with acceptance and commitment therapy: it is not just the presence of perfectionistic thoughts that matters, but the context of self-kindness (or self-criticism) in which they occur. Self-compassion interventions may therefore be a useful way to undermine perfectionism's harmful effects, though experimental research is needed to confirm this.

Key findings

• Self-compassion significantly moderated (weakened) the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and depression in adolescents (beta = -.15, p < .001).
• The same buffering effect was found in adults (beta = -.14, p < .001) — a near-identical effect size despite different samples and different age-appropriate measures.
• Adolescents and adults high in self-compassion were less influenced by maladaptive perfectionism than their counterparts low in self-compassion.
• This was the first study to show that self-compassion can buffer the effects of maladaptive perfectionism on depression.
• The moderation effect was small (about 2% of variance), so self-compassion tempers rather than eliminates the perfectionism–depression link.
• The results support the compassionate context model and suggest self-compassion interventions as an indirect route for treating perfectionism-related depression.

Related work

• All publications by Joseph Ciarrochi (searchable, with free PDFs)
• Process-Based Therapy & Idionomic Analysis

Author: Joseph Ciarrochi (ORCID 0000-0003-0471-8100). Free copy hosted with permission for scholarly use. Please cite the published version via the DOI above.