Dimensions of Perfectionism in Children and Adolescents with Obsessive-compulsive Disorder.

OBJECTIVE To measure the association of perfectionism with obsessive-compulsive and depressive symptoms in children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). METHOD Sample consisted of 94 youth (44 boys, 49 girls; mean age = 13.2 y, SD = 2.5 y) with a DSM-IV diagnosis of OCD. Perfectionism beliefs were measured with both the Adaptive/Maladaptive Perfectionism Scale (AMPS) and a 14-item version of the Child and Adolescents Perfectionism Scale (CAPS-14). Using a hierarchical linear-regression model, we measured the association of perfectionist beliefs with severity of OCD and depressive symptoms. RESULTS Both AMPS and CAPS-14 scores were associated with the severity of OCD symptoms in our sample. In addition, CAPS-14 scores were associated with the severity of depressive symptoms, even when OCD symptoms were taken into account. CONCLUSIONS Our findings lend further support to the hypothesis that perfectionism in youth with OCD is associated with variation in the severity of OCD and depressive symptoms.