https://doi.org/10.4081/ripppo.2022.656
The effectiveness of short-term dynamic/interpersonal group therapy on perfectionism; assessment of anxiety, depression and interpersonal problems
Submitted: August 3, 2022
Accepted: November 2, 2022
Published: December 29, 2022
Accepted: November 2, 2022
Abstract Views: 1614
PDF: 643
HTML: 31
HTML: 31
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Authors
Perfectionism is acknowledged as a core vulnerability and a perpetuating factor in several psychopathologies. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of short-term psychodynamic/interpersonal group psychotherapy for perfectionism and perfectionism-related distress such as anxiety, depression, and interpersonal problems. This study is a quasi-experimental study applying clinical trial method and contains pre-test, post-test, follow-up periods and control group. The study population included students and the sample consisted of 30 people with extreme perfectionism, who were assigned in two groups of 15 people, experimental and waiting list groups using randomized block design. Research instruments included Tehran Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, Perfectionistic Self Presentation Scale, Perfectionistic Cognition Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory-II, Beck Anxiety Inventory and Inventory of Interpersonal Problems-32. In order to analyse the collected data, mixed analysis of variance and Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance were used in SPSS software version 22. The results show that the intervention in the experimental group compared to the waiting list group caused a clinically and statistically significant decrease in the mean scores. This result is observable and evident in all levels of perfectionism and psychological distress (anxiety, depression and interpersonal problems), except for the subscale of Non-Display of Imperfection from the Perfectionistic Self Presentation Scale. These results were preserved through the follow-up periods. These results show that short-term dynamic/interpersonal group therapy is effective in treating most of the components of perfectionism and concerning its effectiveness; it reduced psychological distress and showed that the components pertaining to perfectionism are factors of vulnerability in this regard.
Ashby, J. S., Rice, K. G., & Martin, J. L. (2006). Perfectionism, shame, and depressive symptoms. Journal of Counseling & Development, 84(2), 148-156.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6678.2006.tb00390.x
Babaei Sh, B. M. K., S. Ashouri, A. Psychometric properties of Persian version of the Perfectionist Self-Presentation Scale. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology (Unpublished).
Barkham, M., Hardy, G. E., & Startup, M. (1996). The IIP‐32: A short version of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 35(1), 21-35.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8260.1996.tb01159.x
Bastiani, A. M., Rao, R., Weltzin, T., & Kaye, W. H. (1995). Perfectionism in anorexia nervosa. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 17(2), 147-152.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/1098-108X(199503)17:2<147::AID-EAT2260170207>3.0.CO;2-X
Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Brown, G. K. (1996). Beck depression inventory (BDI-II) (Vol. 10): Pearson London, UK.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/t00742-000
Bender, D. S., Skodol, A. E., First, M. B., & Oldham, J. (2018). Structured clinical interview for the DSM-5® alternative model for personality disorders (SCID-5-AMPD) module I level of personality functioning scale. Washington, DC: APPI.
Besharat, M. A. (2007). Development and validation of the Tehran Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale. Psychological Research.
Blatt, S. J., Auerbach, J., Zuroff, D. C., & Shahar, G. (2006). Evaluating efficacy, effectiveness, and mutative factors in psychodynamic psychotherapies. In PDM Task Force, Psychodynamic diagnostic manual (pp. 537-572).
Blatt, S. J., Quinlan, D. M., Pilkonis, P. A., & Shea, M. T. (1995). Impact of perfectionism and need for approval on the brief treatment of depression: the National Institute of Mental Health Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program revisited. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 63(1), 125.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.63.1.125
Blatt, S. J., Zuroff, D. C., Hawley, L. L., & Auerbach, J. S. (2010). Predictors of sustained therapeutic change. Psychotherapy research, 20(1), 37-54.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10503300903121080
Chen, C., Hewitt, P. L., & Flett, G. L. (2015). Preoccupied attachment, need to belong, shame, and interpersonal perfectionism: An investigation of the perfectionism social disconnection model. Personality and Individual Differences, 76, 177-182.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.12.001
Enns, M. W., & Cox, B. J. (1999). Perfectionism and depression symptom severity in major depressive disorder. Behaviour research and therapy, 37(8), 783-794.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(98)00188-0
Fath, N., Azad Fallah, P., Tabatabaei, R.-z., Kazem, S., & Rahimi, C. (2013). Validity and reliability of the inventory of interpersonal problems (IIP-32). Journal of clinical psychology, 5(3), 69-80.
Flett, G. L., Greene, A., & Hewitt, P. L. (2004). Dimensions of perfectionism and anxiety sensitivity. Journal of Rational-Emotive and Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 22(1), 39-57.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JORE.0000011576.18538.8e
Flett, G. L., Hewitt, P. L., Blankstein, K. R., & Gray, L. (1998). Psychological distress and the frequency of perfectionistic thinking. Journal of personality and social psychology, 75(5), 1363.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.75.5.1363
Flett, G. L., Hewitt, P. L., & Heisel, M. J. (2014). The destructiveness of perfectionism revisited: Implications for the assessment of suicide risk and the prevention of suicide. Review of General Psychology, 18(3), 156-172.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/gpr0000011
Flett, G. L., Hewitt, P. L., Whelan, T., & Martin, T. R. (2007). The Perfectionism Cognitions Inventory: Psychometric properties and associations with distress and deficits in cognitive self-management. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 25(4), 255-277.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-007-0055-4
Ghassemzadeh, H., Mojtabai, R., Karamghadiri, N., & Ebrahimkhani, N. (2005). Psychometric properties of a Persian‐language version of the Beck Depression Inventory‐Second edition: BDI‐II‐PERSIAN. Depression and anxiety, 21(4), 185-192.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/da.20070
Goya Arce, A. B., & Polo, A. J. (2017). A test of the perfectionism social disconnection model among ethnic minority youth. Journal of abnormal child psychology, 45(6), 1181-1193.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-016-0240-y
Hawley, L. L., Ho, M.-H. R., Zuroff, D. C., & Blatt, S. J. (2006). The relationship of perfectionism, depression, and therapeutic alliance during treatment for depression: latent difference score analysis. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 74(5), 930.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.74.5.930
Hewitt, P. L. (2020). Perfecting, belonging, and repairing: A dynamic-relational approach to perfectionism. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne, 61(2), 101.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/cap0000209
Hewitt, P. L., Flett, G. L., & Endler, N. S. (1995). Perfectionism, coping, and depression symptomatology in a clinical sample. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 2(1), 47-58.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.5640020105
Hewitt, P. L., Flett, G. L., & Mikail, S. F. (2017). Perfectionism: A relational approach to conceptualization, assessment, and treatment: Guilford Publications.
Hewitt, P. L., Flett, G. L., Sherry, S. B., Habke, M., Parkin, M., Lam, R. W., . . . Stein, M. B. (2003). The interpersonal expression of perfection: perfectionistic self-presentation and psychological distress. Journal of personality and social psychology, 84(6), 1303.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.84.6.1303
Hewitt, P. L., Habke, A. M., Lee-Baggley, D. L., Sherry, S. B., & Flett, G. L. (2008). The impact of perfectionistic self-presentation on the cognitive, affective, and physiological experience of a clinical interview. Psychiatry, 71(2), 93-122.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1521/psyc.2008.71.2.93
Hewitt, P. L., Mikail, S. F., Dang, S. S., Kealy, D., & Flett, G. L. (2020). Dynamic‐relational treatment of perfectionism: An illustrative case study. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 76(11), 2028-2040.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.23040
Hewitt, P. L., Mikail, S. F., Flett, G. L., Tasca, G. A., Flynn, C. A., Deng, X., . . . Chen, C. (2015). Psychodynamic/interpersonal group psychotherapy for perfectionism: Evaluating the effectiveness of a short-term treatment. Psychotherapy, 52(2), 205.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000016
Hewitt, P. L., Qiu, T., Flynn, C. A., Flett, G. L., Wiebe, S. A., Tasca, G. A., & Mikail, S. F. (2020). Dynamic-relational group treatment for perfectionism: Informant ratings of patient change. Psychotherapy, 57(2), 197.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000229
Hewitt, P. L., Smith, M. M., Deng, X., Chen, C., Ko, A., Flett, G. L., & Paterson, R. J. (2020). The perniciousness of perfectionism in group therapy for depression: A test of the perfectionism social disconnection model. Psychotherapy, 57(2), 206.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000281
Horowitz, L. M., Rosenberg, S. E., Baer, B. A., Ureño, G., & Villaseñor, V. S. (1988). Inventory of interpersonal problems: psychometric properties and clinical applications. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 56(6), 885.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.56.6.885
Kaviani, H., & Mousavi, A. (2008). Psychometric properties of the Persian version of Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Tehran University Medical Journal.
M.A, B. (2006). Investigating the psychometric properties of the Perfectionist Cognitions Scale. Research report of Tehran University. Research report of Tehran University.
M.A, B. (2012). Investigating the validity and factor structure of the Perfectionist Cognitions Scale. . Research report of Tehran University.
Malivoire, B. L., Kuo, J. R., & Antony, M. M. (2019). An examination of emotion dysregulation in maladaptive perfectionism. Clinical psychology review, 71, 39-50.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2019.04.006
Miller, R., Hilsenroth, M. J., & Hewitt, P. L. (2017). Perfectionism and therapeutic alliance: a review of the clinical research. Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process, and Outcome, 20(1).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4081/ripppo.2017.264
Mohammadkhani, P., Forouzan, A. S., Hooshyari, Z., & Abasi, I. (2020). Psychometric properties of Persian version of structured clinical interview for DSM-5-research version (SCID-5-RV): a diagnostic accuracy study. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 14(2).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5812/ijpbs.100930
Nepon, T., Flett, G. L., Hewitt, P. L., & Molnar, D. S. (2011). Perfectionism, negative social feedback, and interpersonal rumination in depression and social anxiety. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 43(4), 297.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025032
Schalkwijk, F., Van Someren, E. J., & Wassing, R. (2019). A clinical interpretation of shame regulation in maladaptive perfectionism. Personality and Individual Differences, 138, 19-23.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.09.001
Shahar, G., Blatt, S. J., Zuroff, D. C., Krupnick, J. L., & Sotsky, S. M. (2004). Perfectionism impedes social relations and response to brief treatment for depression. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23(2), 140.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.23.2.140.31017
Steer, R. A., & Beck, A. T. (1997). Beck Anxiety Inventory.
Stoeber, J., & Yang, H. (2010). Perfectionism and emotional reactions to perfect and flawed achievements: Satisfaction and pride only when perfect. Personality and Individual Differences, 49(3), 246-251.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2010.03.044
How to Cite
Babaei, S., Dehghani, M., Lavasani, F. F., Ashouri, A., & Mohamadi, L. (2022). The effectiveness of short-term dynamic/interpersonal group therapy on perfectionism; assessment of anxiety, depression and interpersonal problems. Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome, 25(3). https://doi.org/10.4081/ripppo.2022.656
Copyright (c) 2022 the Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.
Similar Articles
- Samuel F. Mikail, Paul L. Hewitt, Gordon L. Flett, Sabrina Ge, Group dynamic-relational therapy for perfectionism , Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome: Vol. 25 No. 3 (2022): SPECIAL ISSUE: "Group psychotherapy: between settled benchmarks and new horizons"
- Racheli Miller, Mark J. Hilsenroth, Paul L. Hewitt, Perfectionism and therapeutic alliance: a review of the clinical research , Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome: Vol. 20 No. 1 (2017)
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.