Differentiating Adaptive and Maladaptive Perfectionism on the MMPI–2 and MIPS Revised

Abstract

Although conceptualizations of perfectionism have emphasized adaptive as well as maladaptive expressions of the construct, how these different dimensions or types of perfectionists might be reflected in comprehensive personality assessment instruments is unknown. An initial sample of 267 university students completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2 (MMPI–2; Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 2001), Millon Index of Personality Styles Revised (MIPS–R; Millon, 2004), and Almost Perfect Scale–Revised (Slaney, Mobley, Trippi, Ashby, & Johnson, 1996). Analyses indicated that dimensions and types of perfectionism were associated, in expected directions, with select scores on the MMPI–2 and MIPS–R.

Acknowledgments

We thank Dan Knippel, Brooke Watson, Melina Sevlever, Natalie Arcario, Davina Craig, Nicole Critelli, Paula Garces, Joey Hannah, Alexzandria May, Damita Miller, Jennifer Langille, Theresa Layug, Christine Lee, Lori Nabors, Michelle Nagri, Ashley Taylor, and Huan Ye for their assistance with this study. Preliminary results from this study were presented at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association in August 2007.

Notes

^a n = 67.

^b n = 46.

^c n = 88.

^a n = 67.

^b n = 46.

^c n = 88.