Introduction
Notably, some psychological or mental conditions usually appear to be more beneficial than harmful to the health of adolescents. For instance, perfectionism seems to be a positive attribute that can significantly contribute to an individual’s success in life. However, at certain levels perfectionism can make an individual develop negative attitudes and thoughts which can deter them from achieving their life goals. Therefore, perfectionism has both positive and negative effects on an individual depending on personal, social, and parental perceptions of their success in life.
Explanation of Perfectionism
Researchers consider perfectionism more of a mental than psychological condition because it is related to the perception of success of an individual at personal and social levels. Most people who struggle with perfectionism fear making mistakes in their daily life as they want recognition from friends and family members (Senra et al., 2019). Mostly, people with perfectionism do not strive to excel for their gain but for recognition by others. As a result, individuals with the above condition believe that self-love and self-worth can only be earned through life success.
Parenting styles play a significant role in shaping an individual’s behaviors, beliefs, values, and personal perceptions. People who suffer from perfectionism influenced by parenting live to make their parents happy and not themselves. For instance, a person can succeed academically, and career-wise to meet the expectations of their parents and thus they live unhappy lives even though their lives are successful (Senra et al., 2019). Therefore, anytime a perfectionist fails to attain the expected success levels by their parents, they develop negative feelings and perceive themselves as failures, worthless and disgraceful. Perfectionism influenced by parents makes individuals not appreciate their success if it does not reach parental thresholds.
Factors Influencing Perfectionism
Cognitive perfectionism is a mental condition whose development is influenced by the personal traits and beliefs of an individual. As a result, people may set academic, economic, or social goals in life and attach their self-value to the achievement of those goals. The inability to meet personal goals and expectations makes one criticize themselves, which causes negative self-perception (Wang et al., 2022). Therefore, regardless of success or failure, individuals with cognitive perfectionism may never gain satisfaction or happiness in life.
Additionally, people who fear being judged or disapproved by others can easily develop the condition of physical perfectionism. Individuals can develop perfectionism as a result of fear of disappointing their parents or because society has high expectations of them (Wang et al., 2022). In addition, people can develop perfectionism if they have persistent experiences of excessive obsession which makes them highly focused on achieving a specific goal without accepting anything less. As a result, one can become a perfectionist due to fear, parental upbringing style, and obsession.
Family Patterns and Social Relationships
Sometimes family members can transfer perfectionism to their children through the exertion of excessive control which limits personal decision-making. As a result, such family members see themselves as flawless and are fast at pointing out the mistakes of others. In addition, perfectionism can run in the family through the inheritance of genes. Naturally, children born of parents with self-oriented perfectionism can genetically give birth and raise children with the traits of a perfectionist (Wang et al., 2022). Often parents who are perfectionists always control their children to become perfect and thus yell at them when they are wrong instead of correcting them. This yelling may instill fear in children and make them focus on perfection to avoid violence from parents.
The society in which an individual lives play a significant role in influencing their perfectionism trait. Social patterns such as culture, and traditions exert pressure on individuals to exercise perfectionism by setting standards that should be subscribed to by community members. In addition, the patterns named above also promote perfectionism by instilling fear and anxiety in individuals, as there are dire consequences for people who fail to meet social expectations (Wang et al., 2022). People who do not operate with social systems usually find themselves socially isolated. This isolation can lead to the development of feelings of worthlessness and social unacceptability.
Social Theory
Social perfectionism occurs when one strives to be perfect in meeting all expectations of society to gain recognition or acceptability. Researchers argue that people develop social perfectionism due to fear of judgment from members of society (Lozano et al., 2019). Over time an individual focus shifts to making society happy and at the expense of their happiness. Therefore perfectionism develops from self and social exertions which controls one’s behavior to match personal or socially set standards.
Developmental Theory
Moreover, early childhood experiences and the environmental factors in which a person grows and lives tend to shape their behavior and traits of perfectionism. When people fail to achieve expectations of the external environment they are criticism sets in leading to the development of negative feelings of worthlessness (Lozano et al., 2019). As a result, children grow up in an environment that exerts pressure on them to live flawless life without any exceptions. Therefore, children growing up in perfectionist environments develop an ever-increasingly sensitivity to mistakes as they become adults.
Conclusion
Finally, perfectionism seems beneficial as it promotes one’s ability to succeed in life. However, when children grow up in an environment that promotes perfectionism either due to social or self-oriented factors they may develop negative feelings when they make mistakes. Several factors influence the development of perfectionism, such as childhood experiences, social expectations, and parental styles of upbringing. People who have the condition of perfectionism exhibit fear of judgment from family members and society and thus pressure themselves to their expectations. As a result, family patterns play significant roles in shaping the behaviors, beliefs, and traits of individuals.
References
Lozano, L. M., Valor-Segura, I., García-Cueto, E., Pedrosa, I., Llanos, A., & Lozano, L. (2019). Relationship between child perfectionism and psychological disorders. Frontiers in Psychology, 1-6. Web.
Senra, C., Merino, H., & Ferreiro, F. (2017). Exploring the link between perfectionism and depressive symptoms: Contribution of rumination and defense styles. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 74(6), 1053–1066. Web.
Wang, Y., Chen, J., Zhang, X., Lin, X., Sun, Y., Wang, N, & Luo, F. (2022). The relationship between perfectionism and social anxiety: A moderated mediation model. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(19), 12934.. Web.