Desarrollo del desarrollo y la gestión del Bienestar Institucional en la sede Bogotá

Historical descriptions of perfectionism consistently refer to the construct as learned behaviour derived from the child’s interactions with their parents (Pacht, 1984). Initial theorising on this approach to perfectionism development was provided by Hollender (1965). According to Hollender, perfectionism is learned during childhood via exposure to perfectionistic parents. Later, Hamachek (1978) suggested that normal perfectionism develops through positive modelling, “which is simply a developmental by-product of a close identification with an emotionally important person, who, by example and percept, has passed on the idea that there are preferable ways of doing things” (p. 30). When children see their parents striving towards high standards or “the best one can do”, and parental perfectionistic striving is equated with the “preferable way to do things”, the child learns that perfectionism is a highly valued quality. Consistent with Hollender’s and Hamachek’s theorising, Barrow and Moore (1983) also proposed four family environments are conducive to the development of perfectionistic thinking in children. The final condition outlined by Barrow and Moore captured the child’s tendency to model the perfectionistic attitudes and behaviours of their parents. Recognising that historical theories of perfectionism had focused upon children’s modelling tendencies, Flett et al (2002) proposed the first pathway to

model.

Flett et al’s (2002) social learning model resembles the work of Bandura (1986), who demonstrated that children imitate, embrace, and subsequently model the values of significant others. In a similar manner, the social learning model captures the child’s tendency to imitate the perfectionism that presumably resides in parents (Flett et al., 2002). Specifically, Flett et al. proposed that a child’s developmental tendency to imitate is underpinned by an idealised notion of their parents, who is placed on a pedestal; that is, the child wants to be like their seemingly “perfect” parent (Flett et al., 2002).

Within the tenets of the social learning model, it is hypothesised that gifted children such as elite junior athletes will be especially inclined to imitate the perfectionism that presumably resides within their parents. This hypothesis is forwarded because the child’s perceived or actual ability to attain perfection is a key factor in the genesis of perfectionism (Flett et al., 2002). A tendency to model the perfectionism of parents is highly irrational if a child has a history of limited success in achievement situations, or has no realistic possibility of attaining perfection in the future (Flett et al., 2002). In contrast, children are increasingly likely to model parents’ perfectionism when a sense of perfection is possible. This latter point is relevant to elite junior athletes, who may not only consider

perfection a realistic goal, but for whom perfection is an expected goal by the cultural norms that govern the achievement domain. Consequently, it is envisaged that the social learning model will provide a revealing insight into the

development of perfectionism in elite junior athletes, and will therefore receive the attention of the current programme of research. Specifically, study two

(chapter five) will seek to answer the following research question: Do parents’ SOP, SPP, and OOP significantly predict corresponding perfectionism dimensions in a sample of elite junior athletes?

4.2.1. Recent extensions to the Social Learning Model: The mediating role of parenting styles and practices

While the social learning model provides a foundation upon which to investigate the development of perfectionism in elite junior athletes, it is

important that sport psychologists take heed of the recommendations proposed by Darling and Steinberg (1993). In their seminal article on parenting styles and practices, Darling and Steinberg argued that psychologists had identified the effects of parenting for child development, although little was known about the processes that mediated this relationship. Darling and Steinberg continued by suggesting models of parenting must account for the mediating processes through which parenting influences children. This statement was encapsulated by their contextual model of parenting. According to the contextual model of parenting, the influence of parental goals and values for a child’s personality characteristics and behaviour is mediated by two critical factors; parenting style and parenting practices. The former captures a constellation of attitudes communicated to the child across a wide range of situations. Parental practices, in contrast, are

behaviours defined by specific content and socialising goals, and are thus domain specific. The theorising of Darling and Steinberg had important implications for an understanding of general parenting, as researchers moved away from simply examining the effects of parental goals and values for children’s personality characteristics, to explaining these effects via mediating processes.

In addition to the general parenting literature, Darling and

Steinberg’s (1993) contextual model has ramifications for an understanding perfectionism development. Testing a social learning model may reveal one pathway to perfectionism development; however, Darling and Steinberg’s theorising implies that the acquisition of perfectionism is more complex than simple modelling and imitation. Rather, perfectionism may be transmitted from parent to their children through specific parenting styles and practices. This is consistent with the recent findings of Soenens and colleagues (e.g., Soenens, Elliot, Goossens, Vansteenkiste, Luyten, & Duriez, 2005) from the general psychological literature. Soenens and his team have identified the mediating role of parents’ psychological control in the intergenerational transmission of

maladaptive perfectionism. The findings of Soenens, Elliot, et al. and the conceptual arguments of Darling and Steinberg have important implications for investigations of the origins of perfectionism in sport. Specifically, sport psychologists should move beyond merely testing a social learning model, and consider whether general and domain specific parenting plays an important role in the intergenerational transmission of perfectionism between parents and their athletic children. The current research programme attempted to address this issue in study three (chapter six), by seeking an answer to the following question; Does parental psychological control and

empathy mediate the intergenerational transmission of perfectionism between parents and their athletic child?