Grades of university and college students decrease during the transition from high school to tertiary education: a latent change analysis of the 2 × 2 model of perfectionism

Abstract

Academic performance tends to deteriorate during the transition from high school to post-secondary education. In this study, our goal was to investigate whether the degree of this performance deterioration differs across the four subtypes of perfectionism from the 2 × 2 model of perfectionism. Samples of 392 university students and 946 college students completed a perfectionism questionnaire. Their high school and first semester grades were obtained through the office of the registrar. Results of latent change analyses revealed that the grades of students decreased during the transition to university (–12%) and college (–4%). The four subtypes of perfectionism were associated with a different degree of performance deterioration and supported the four hypotheses of the 2 × 2 model of perfectionism. Both university and college students with pure socially prescribed perfectionism experienced the strongest decrease in academic performance and should be closely monitored during their transition into post-secondary education.

Keywords:

• Perfectionism
• performance
• achievement
• transition
• tertiary education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

Patrick Gaudreau was supported by research grant 435-2015-0649 from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and a teaching release awarded by the Faculty of Social Sciences from the University of Ottawa. Patrick Gaudreau, Megan Waltenbury, and Tim Fricker were supported by research contract from Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario.