The relationship of perceived parenting styles to perfectionism

Past research on perfectionism has suggested that the development of perfectionism is related to harsh parenting styles. The present study extends past research by examining the relationship between perceived parental characteristics and perfectionism in both men and women from two ethnic groups. This study also included an examination of the relationship between perfectionism and academic achievement. One-hundred and Forty-five Asian-American and 192 Caucasian-American college students participated in the present study. In general, harsh and authoritarian parenting styles were related to maladaptive, but not adaptive, components of perfectionism in Caucasian-American men and women and Asian-American women. The adaptive component of perfectionism was related to higher grade-point averages for women in both ethnic groups but not for the men.