The influence of perfectionism, self-esteem and resilience on young people’s mental health

Isobel Doyle, Jon Catling*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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Abstract

The current study explored whether maladaptive perfectionism and low self-esteem constituted reliable risk factors of student mental illness, as well as determining whether resilience moderates these predictive relationships. 434 University undergraduate students were recruited. Depression and anxiety were measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7). Perfectionism, self-esteem and resilience were analysed in relation to the PHQ9 and GAD-7 scores via a regression analysis. Perfectionism discrepancy, self-esteem and resilience all significantly predicted depression and anxiety. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed a statistically significant amount of additional variance to be explained by resilience for depression and anxiety, than for perfectionism and self-esteem alone. Maladaptive perfectionism and low self-esteem predispose an individual to depression and anxiety, though resilience may act as a protective factor against development of mental illness.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)224-240
Number of pages17
JournalThe Journal of Psychology
Volume156
Issue number3
Early online date24 Feb 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 3 Apr 2022

Keywords

  • Perfectionism
  • self esteem
  • depression
  • anxiety
  • resilience

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