Perfectionism has been investigated by researchers in the field of education of the gifted because of the negative consequences perfectionism could have on gifted students’ mental health and on their socio-emotional development. Researchers have found several results in the field, which have been sometimes inconclusive. Parental influences on perfectionism have not been addressed fully.
The goal of this research was to explore the main characteristics of perfectionism in Chilean high school and college students and parental characteristics that influence on the type of perfectionism developed by the gifted student.
We used a mixed methods approach for this investigation that was conducted with 160 students participating in an enrichment program for the gifted in the city of Valparaiso, Chile. For measuring perfectionism, the MPS was used. The MPS was designed to measure both self-oriented and socially-prescribed perfectionism. For an in-depth approach to parental influences, we developed semi-structured phenomenological interviews with students and parents that were conducted (separately) after the administration of the MPS with parents of students identified as having maladaptive types of perfectionism and parents of individuals who had a healthy (adaptive) perfectionism.
Results of the test application indicated that the majority of students had a healthy type of perfectionism. Also, students reported lower scores on the Organization subscale of the test (oriented to structure and order).
Preliminary results of the interviews were that parents of students who had a tendency towards a maladaptive type of perfectionism emphasized excessively external indicators of academic success (e.g grades), whereas parents of students with a healthy type of perfectionism were more learning oriented (learning-goal orientation).
This investigation helped to shed light on the construct of perfectionism and its manifestation in the Chilean population. How to address this socio-emotional gifted students´ characteristic remains a challenge for teachers and practitioners in the country.