Many different self-report measures have been developed to study perfectionism, each based upon the conceptualisation of perfectionism held by the authors of that measure. Egan, Wade, Shafran, and Antony (2014, p. 50) offer the following self- report measures for perfectionism, divided into sub-fields of General Perfectionism Measures, Cognitions, Relationships, Sport, Eating Disorders and Body Image, as well as Children.
Table 3.2: General perfectionism measures (Egan et al., 2014, p. 61)
General Perfectionism Measures
Measure Purpose Length Comments
Almost Perfect Scale- Revised (APS-R; Slaney
et al., 2001)
Assesses three dimensions of perfectionism:
(1) high standards, (2) order, and (3) discrepancy.
23 items • Well researched; strong psychometric properties. • Distinguishes between
adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism.
• Translated into multiple languages.
Behavioral Domains Questionnaire (BDQ; Lee
et al., 2011)
Assesses the behavioural
expressions of
perfectionism across five life domains: (1) housework, (2) work, (3) social, (4) hobbies, and (5) appearance.
37 items • Assesses seven different types of perfectionistic behaviours.
• Preliminary evidence supports clinical utility. Burns Perfectionism Scale (BPS; Burns, 1980) Assesses clinical perfectionism.
10 items • One of the first published perfectionism measures. • Widely cited but little is known
about its psychometric properties.
142 Clinical Perfectionism Questionnaire (CPQ; Fairburn et al., 2003a) Assesses clinical perfectionism.
12 items • Scale has well-supported psychometric properties. • Useful scale for assessing in
perfectionism across sessions.
Consequences of Perfectionism Scale (COPS; Kim, 2010) Assesses perceptions of perfectionism as being either adaptive or maladaptive.
10 items • Preliminary research supports reliability and validity.
Frost et al. Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale
(FMPS;
Frost et al., 1990)
Assesses six dimensions of perfectionism:
(1) concern over mistakes, (2) doubts about actions, (3) personal standards, (4) parental expectations, (5) parental criticism, and (6) organization.
35 items • One of the two best-studied and most popular scales for measuring perfectionism. • Good support for
psychometric properties, except for mixed evidence regarding the number of factors.
• Translated into multiple languages.
Hewitt and Flett Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale
(HMPS; Hewitt & Flett, 1991b)
Assesses three dimensions of perfectionism: (1) self-oriented perfectionism, (2) other-oriented perfectionism, and (3) socially prescribed perfectionism.
45 items • One of the two best studied and most popular scales of measuring perfectionism. • Strong support for
psychometric properties.
Neurotic Perfectionism Questionnaire (NPQ; Mitzman et al., 1994)
Designed to measure perfectionism in people with eating disorders, though content of items is general.
42 items • No data on psychometric properties.
• Scale is not widely used.
Perfectionism Inventory
(PI; Hill et al., 2004)
Assesses eight domains of perfectionism:
(1) concern over mistakes, (2) high standards for others, (3) need approval, (4) organization, (5) perceived parental pressure, (6) planfulness, and (7) rumination
(8) striving for excellence.
59 items • Original journal article suggests good psychometric properties.
• Not widely used or studied
Perfectionistic Self- presentation Scale (PSP;
Hewitt et al., 2003)
Assesses the desire to appear perfect in front of others across three dimensions: (1) perfectionistic self- promotion, (2) non-display of imperfection. (3) nondisclosure of imperfection
27 items • Preliminary research supports psychometric properties.
Positive and Negative Perfectionism Scale
(PANPS; Terry Short et al., 1995)
Assesses positive and negative aspects of perfectionism.
40 items • Psychometric support is mixed.
• One study suggests that a briefer (19-item) version may be more useful.
143 Table 3.3: Perfectionist-related cognitions measures (Egan et al., 2014, p. 63)
Perfectionist-related Cognitions
Measure Purpose Length Comments
Perfectionism Cognitions inventory (PCI; Flett et
al., 1998)
Assesses the frequency of automatic thoughts involving themes of perfectionism.
25 items • Preliminary research supports psychometric properties. Multidimensional Perfectionism Cognitions Inventory-English (MPCI; Kobori, 2006) Assesses cognitions associated with self- oriented perfectionism and socially prescribed
perfectionism along three dimensions:
(1) personal standards, (2) pursuit of perfection, and (3) concern over mistakes.
15 items • Preliminary research supports psychometric properties.
Table 3.4: Perfectionism in relationships measures (Egan et al., 2014, p. 63)
Perfectionism in Relationships
Measure Purpose Length Comments
Dyadic Almost Perfect Scale
(DAPS; Shea & Slaney, 1992)
Assesses perfectionistic beliefs about one’s partner along three dimensions: (1) high standards, (2) order, and (3) discrepancy.
26 items • Preliminary research supports psychometric properties.
Family Almost Perfect Scale (FAPS; Wang et
al., 2010)
Assesses beliefs regarding family members’ standards along three dimensions: (1) family standards, (2) family order, and (3) family discrepancy.
17 items • Preliminary research supports psychometric properties. Multidimensional Parenting Perfectionism Scale (MPPS; Snell et al., 2005) Assesses perfectionism in context of parenting
(includes eleven subscales)
65 items • More research needed on psychometric properties.
Table 3.5: Perfectionism in sport measures (Egan et al., 2014, p. 64)
Perfectionism in Sport
Measure Purpose Length Comments
Sport Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale-2
(Sport-MPS-2; Gotwals & Dunn, 2009)
Assesses perfectionism in the context of sport along six dimensions: (1) personal standards, (2) concern over mistakes, (3) perceived parental pressure,
(4) perceived coach pressure
(5) doubts about actions,
42 items • Preliminary research supports psychometric properties.
144 (6) organization. Sport Perfectionism Scale (SPS; Anshel et al., 2009) Assesses sport-related perfectionism.
35 items • Preliminary research supports psychometric properties, including unidimensional factor structure.
Table 3.6: Perfectionism, eating disorders and body image measures (Egan et al., 2014, p. 64)
Perfectionism, Eating Disorders and Body Image
Measure Purpose Length Comments
Eating Disorders Inventory-Perfectionism Subscale (EDI-P; Garner,
1991)
Assesses perfectionism in the context of eating disorders.
6 items • Part of the EDI-3, a popular and well-established measure for eating disorders.
Physical Appearance Perfectionism Scale
(PAPS; Yang & Stoeber, 2012)
Assesses perfectionism about physical appearance along two dimensions: (1) worry about
imperfection, and (2) hope for perfection
12 items • Preliminary research supports psychometric properties.
Table 3.7: Perfectionism in children measures (Egan et al., 2014, p. 65)
Perfectionism in Children
Measure Purpose Length Comments
Adaptive/Maladaptive Perfectionism Scale
(AMPS; Rice & Preusser, 2002)
Assesses perfectionism in children ages 9 to 12 years, along four dimensions: (1) sensitivity to mistakes, (2) contingent self-esteem, (3) compulsiveness, and (4) need for admiration.
27 items • Preliminary research supports psychometric properties.
Child and Adolescent Perfectionism Scale
(CAPS; Flett et al., 2000)
Assesses perfectionism in children along two
dimensions: (1) self-oriented perfectionism, and (2) socially prescribed perfectionism.
22 items • Preliminary research supports psychometric properties.
Childhood Retrospective Perfectionism Scale
(CHIRP; Southgate et al., 2008) Assesses childhood perfectionism retrospectively, with an emphasis on obsessive- compulsive personality traits.
20 items • Two versions available (20 items each)-one for the individual to report on his/her own perfectionism in
childhood, and one for an informant to complete.
• Preliminary research supports psychometric properties.
145
Presentation Scale- Junior Form (PSPS-JR;
Hewitt et al., 2011)
self-presentation in children and adolescents across three dimensions: (1) perfectionistic self- promotion, (2) nondisplay of imperfection, and (3) nondisclosure of imperfection. psychometric properties.
3.7 Methodological issues in the study of perfectionism within eating