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the giftedness/ perfectionism connection: recent research and implications The purpose of this paper is to discuss resent research regarding the linkage between perfectionism and intellectual giftedness. The Construct of Perfectionism One of the difficulties in describing the construct of perfectionism is recognizing the multiple uses that occur in the literature. There is a fine line between striving to reach high standards of excellence and feeling self-defeated through the inability to reach unreasonable expectations. Some writers, deal with this dichotomy by contrasting two types of perfectionism. Bransky, Jenkins-Friedman, and Murphy (1987) distinguish between enabling perfectionism that empowers individuals and disabling perfectionism that cripples individuals. Hamachek (1978) contrasts normal perfectionism marked by striving to attain a standard of excellence with neurotic perfectionism which is marked by fear of making mistakes. Enns and Cox (2002) label the positive aspects of perfectionism as "adaptive perfectionism " and the negative aspects of perfectionisms as "maladaptive perfectionism. " Some writers (Parker, 2000; Schuler, 2000) view the adaptive aspects as healthy perfectionism and the maladaptive aspects as unhealthy perfectionism. Othe