Validity of DAS perfectionism and need for approval in relation to the five-factor model of personality

This study examined the validity of the perfectionism and need for approval scales of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS; Weissman & Beck, 1978) by locating these measures within a comprehensive framework of personality, provided by the revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R; Costa & McCrae, 1992), in a clinical sample (N=132). The results indicated that: (1) DAS perfectionism reflects the self-critical aspects of the broader perfectionism construct rather than the active achievement striving aspects; (2) DAS need for approval generally lacks an association with positive interpersonal traits and shares much in common with DAS perfectionism; and (3) with shared variance between the perfectionism and need for approval scales removed, each scale more clearly relates to negative (perfectionism) and positive (need for approval) interpersonal content, respectively.