Perfectionism and suicide potential

Abstract

The present study employed a multidimensional approach to examine the association between perfectionism and suicide threat. The present study also examined whether perfectionism variables predicted variance in suicide threat and suicide intention that is not accounted for by other well‐known predictors (i.e. depression and hopelessness). A sample of 87 psychiatric patients completed the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, the MMPI Threat Suicide Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory. The Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale assesses self‐oriented perfectionism, other‐oriented perfectionism, and socially prescribed perfectionism. The analyses revealed that socially prescribed perfectionism was the only perfectionism dimension correlated significantly with suicide threat and intent. Moreover, hierarchical regression analyses showed that socially prescribed perfectionism predicted variance in suicide scores that was not accounted for by depression or hopelessness. Overall, the findings suggest that suicide potential is associated with a dispositional tendency to perceive that other people are unrealistic in their expectations for the self. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for intervention.