The relationship between perfectionism and multidimensional life satisfaction among Croatian and American youth

Although much research investigating multidimensional perfectionism has been conducted among adults from various cultures, little is known of the cross-cultural manifestation of perfectionism among school-age youth. In addition, no cross-cultural studies have compared the perceived life quality of youth identified as adaptive perfectionists (i.e., high personal standards but low distress when the standards are not met), maladaptive perfectionists (i.e., high personal standards, high distress), and non-perfectionists (i.e., significantly lower personal standards). In this study, Croatian youth completed the Almost Perfect Scale-Revised and the Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale. Reports from this group were compared to a group of American youth. Results found differential predictive values of personal standards and discrepancy across satisfaction domains for both groups. Further, adaptive perfectionists reported significantly higher satisfaction across many life domains for both groups than maladaptive perfectionists and non-perfectionists. Males and females reported statistically equivalent satisfaction levels across most life domains-with the exception of friendship satisfaction. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research conclude the paper.