How should discrepancy be assessed in perfectionism research? A psychometric analysis and proposed refinement of the Almost Perfect Scale–Revised

摘要

Research on perfectionism with the Almost Perfect Scale-Revised (APS-R) distinguishesudadaptive perfectionists versus maladaptive perfectionists based primarily on their responses toudthe 12-item unidimensional APS-R discrepancy subscale, which assesses the sense of fallingudshort of standards. People described as adaptive perfectionists have high standards but low levelsudof discrepancy (i.e., relatively close to attaining these standards). Maladaptive perfectionists haveudperfectionistic high standards and high levels of discrepancy. In the current work, we re-examineudthe psychometric properties of the APS-R discrepancy subscale and illustrate that thisudsupposedly unidimensional discrepancy measure may actually consists of more than one factor.udPsychometric analyses of data from student and community samples distinguished a pure fiveitemuddiscrepancy factor and a second four-item factor measuring dissatisfaction. The five-itemudfactor is recommended as a brief measure of discrepancy from perfection and the four-itemudfactor is recommended as a measure of dissatisfaction with being imperfect. Overall, our resultsudconfirm past suggestions that most people with maladaptive perfectionism are characterizedudjointly by chronic dissatisfaction as well as a sense of being discrepant due to having fallen shortudof expectations. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the assessment ofudperfectionism, as well as the implications for research and practice.