Examining the Construct of Perfectionism: a Factor-analytic Study

OF DISSERTATION Agnes Mariann Stairs The Graduate School University of Kentucky 2009 EXAMINING THE CONSTRUCT OF PERFECTIONISM: A FACTOR-ANALYTIC STUDY _________________________________________________ ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATIONOF DISSERTATION _________________________________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky By Agnes Mariann Stairs Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Gregory T. Smith, Professor of Psychology Lexington, Kentucky 2009 Copyright © Agnes Mariann Stairs, 2009 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATIONOF DISSERTATION EXAMINING THE CONSTRUCT OF PERFECTIONISM: A FACTOR-ANALYTIC STUDY The construct of perfectionism is related to many important outcome variables. However, the term “perfectionism” has been defined in many different ways, and items comprising the different existing scales appear to be very different in content. The overarching aim of the present set of studies was to help clarify the specific unidimensional constructs underlying what is called “perfectionism”. First, trained raters reliably sorted items from existing measures of perfectionism into nine dimensions. An exploratory factor analysis, followed by a confirmatory factor analysis on an independent sample, resulted in a 9 scale, 61 item measure, called the Measure of Constructs Underlying Perfectionism (MCUP). The nine scales were internally consistent and stable across time, and they were differentially associated with relevant measures of personality and psychosocial functioning in theoretically meaningful ways.