Trait Resilience as a Mediator Between Maladaptive Perfectionism, Anxiety, Depression and Stress in College Students

Little research has been conducted into the relationship between perfectionism and resilience. The current study investigated the relationship between dimensions of perfectionism, resilience, and negative mental health outcomes. Resilience was also investigated as a potential mediator between maladaptive perfectionism and anxiety, depression and stress respectively. A convenient snowball sample of 75 Irish college students participated in the study. The sample consisted of 56 females and 19 males ranging in age from 18 to 24 years old (M = 20.33; SD = 1.23). The Almost Perfect Scale – Revised (APS-R), the Dispositional Resilience Scale – Short Form (DRS-SF), and the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (21 item) (DASS-21) were used to measure perfectionism, resilience and negative mental health outcomes respectively. Results indicate that a, strong, negative relationship exists between maladaptive perfectionism and resilience however, resilience did not mediate the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and any of the three mental health outcomes. Conflicting evidence exists in relation to resilience as a mediator between maladaptive perfectionism and college student mental health, however resilience appears to be an important component to consider in relation to the development and maintenance of this relationship. Resilience should be considered for future interventions pertaining to perfectionistic individuals