Abstract
Perfectionism involves an insistence on outstanding performance on tasks to an extreme level. More specifically, perfectionism-related discrepancy is when one subjectively sees a gap between their performance and their expectations for how they should perform. Perfectionism may be linked to mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and social disconnection. The perfectionism social disconnection model asserts that perfectionism can also lead to social withdrawal. Self-compassion involves the acceptance of imperfection; it has been associated with higher perceived social support and has also been shown to attenuate the relationship between perfectionism and psychological distress. This study aimed to further explore the relationship between self-compassion, perfectionism-related discrepancy, and perceived social support from family in an adult sample (N = 265). We hypothesized that perceived social support from family would have a negative relationship with perfectionism-related discrepancy and that higher self-compassion would weaken this negative relationship as a moderator. Results indicated that perfectionism-related discrepancy had a weak negative correlation with perceived social support from family, although perfectionism-related discrepancy did not directly predict perceived social support from family. There was no significant moderating effect of self-compassion on the relationship between perceived social support from family and perfectionism-related discrepancy. Future research may extend beyond our self-report data by involving longitudinal or intervention-based studies of perfectionism in relation to perceived social support and self-compassion.
Degree
MS
College and Department
Family, Home, and Social Sciences; Psychology
Rights
https://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Hammond, Marinne, "Testing the Moderating Effect of Self-Compassion on the Relationship Between Perfectionism-Related Discrepancy and Perceived Social Support From Family" (2026). Theses and Dissertations. 11345.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/11345
Date Submitted
2026-06-09
Document Type
Thesis
Permanent Link
https://arks.lib.byu.edu/ark:/34234/q2e2e46103
Keywords
perfectionism-related discrepancy, self-compassion, perceived social support from family, perfectionism social disconnection model, self-report
Language
english