Perfectionism and Daily Coping and Emotion Regulation Processes: A Trial of Two Explanatory Feedback Interventions

NCT06625151 | Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: Fund #256468SSHRC 435-2021-0581
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 200
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Over the past three decades, perfectionism has received increasing theoretical and empirical attention as a cognitive-personality factor that increases vulnerability to a wide range of psychological problems, including depression and anxiety. Although mediators and moderators of the link between perfectionism and well-being have been identified, the direct clinical utility of these findings has not been a focus. The Perfectionism and Coping Processes Model - Explanatory Feedback Intervention (PCPM-EFI) draws on previous findings and individually analyzes participant responses to perfectionism measures and online daily questionnaires of stress, coping, and mood over 7 days. The EFI provides an individualized slideshow presentation that is delivered in a single 45-60 minute session by a student research assistant to address how stress and coping patterns trigger and maintain negative affect and (lower) positive affect in the participant's daily life. A recent waitlist controlled feasibility trial compared the PCPM-EFI condition with a waitlist control condition over 4 weeks in 176 university students with higher SC perfectionism, with individualized feedback delivered one-on-one by student trainees in-person or remotely through videoconferencing. The feasibility of the individualized analyses of each participant's daily data was supported by identifying daily trigger patterns, maintenance tendencies, strengths, common triggers, and best targets for reducing negative mood and increasing positive mood across several stressors for each participant. Participant ratings indicated that the comprehensive feedback was coherent and functional. Participants in the EFI condition, compared to those in the control condition, reported increases in empowerment, coping self-efficacy, and problem-focused coping, as well as decreases in depressive and anxious symptoms. Between-group effect sizes were moderate-to-large. There were reliable improvements in empowerment and depressive symptoms for 56% and 36%, respectively, of participants in the EFI condition. These findings demonstrate the broad applicability, conceptual utility, and effectiveness of the PCPM-EFI for self-critical perfectionistic individuals. Given these promising findings, research is needed to examine the utility of customizing daily emotion regulation findings, and the complementary effects of providing meaningful feedback on well-being. The present study will build on the promising findings of the PCPM-EFI by using a 7-day daily diary methodology to test a complementary EFI on perfectionism and emotion regulation processes (e.g., self-compassion, mindfulness, experiential avoidance, rumination, reappraisal) delivered online through videoconferencing in a sample of university students with higher self-critical perfectionism. Based on the Perfectionism and Emotion Regulation Processes Model (PERPM), the PERPM-EFI follows the same structure as the PCPM-EFI to provide individualized analyses drawn from previous findings. The results of a pilot study of 12 university students with higher SC perfectionism suggest that the PERPM-EFI is broadly applicable, conceptually useful, and effective. Specifically, despite the small sample size, participants reported increases in empowerment, mindfulness, self-compassion, and emotional self-awareness, as well as decreases in depressive and anxious symptoms. The present study will use a randomized control design to examine whether the PCPM-EFI plus PERPM-EFI can better improve well-being, relative to providing no feedback, the PERPM-EFI alone, or PCPM-EFI alone in the context of a 4-week longitudinal study with three time points in a sample of 180 university students. The four conditions will be: (a) waitlist control condition, (b) PCPM-EFI, (c) PERPM-EFI, and (d) PCPM-EFI plus PERPM-EFI. It is hypothesized that all three EFI conditions will yield better outcomes than the waitlist control condition. It is also hypothesized that the combined PCPM-EFI plus PERPM-EFI condition will be superior to the PCPM-EFI condition and PERPM-EFI condition on empowerment (primary outcome) and secondary symptom outcomes (i.e., depressive symptoms, anxious symptoms, negative affect, positive affect). It is also expected that participants in the PCPM-EFI plus PERPM-EFI condition and PCPM-EFI condition will exhibit larger increases in coping self-efficacy and problem-focused coping than participants in the PERPM-EFI condition. On the other hand, it is hypothesized that participants in the PCPM-EFI plus PERPM-EFI condition and PERPM-EFI condition will exhibit larger increases in self-compassion, mindfulness, and emotional self-awareness than participants in the PCPM-EFI condition. If the feedback interventions are shown to be efficacious, the interventions could be offered to universities, work places, clinical settings, and other organizations.

Conditions

Perfectionism; Psychological Well-being; University Students

Keywords

Perfectionism; Stress; Coping; Emotion Regulation; Mood; Daily Diary; Feedback Intervention

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Patient Empowerment Scale - Adapted version (Dunkley et al., 2023; van Uden-Kraan et al., 2009)

  20-item adapted measure of four empowering outcomes, including being better informed, improved acceptance of problems, increased optimism and control over the future, and enhanced self-esteem. All items have the format of a statement that begins with "Through my participation in the study, … ."

  Measure completed at Time 2 (two weeks after baseline) after all participants completed the Step 1 daily reporting procedure, and at Time 3 (two weeks after Time 2). Will also be administered immediately after feedback.

Secondary Outcomes (19)

• Beck Depression Inventory (BDI; Beck and Steer, 1987)

  Measure completed at baseline, at Time 2 (two weeks after baseline), and at Time 3 (two weeks after Time 2).

• Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-Short Form (DASS-21; Lovibond and Lovibond, 1995)

  Measure completed at baseline, at Time 2 (two weeks after baseline), and at Time 3 (two weeks after Time 2).

• Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS; Watson et al., 1988)

  Measure completed at baseline, at Time 2 (two weeks after baseline), and at Time 3 (two weeks after Time 2). Will also be administered immediately before and after feedback.

• Coping Self-Efficacy Scale (CSES; Chesney et al., 2006)

  Measure completed at baseline, at Time 2 (two weeks after baseline), and at Time 3 (two weeks after Time 2). Will also be administered immediately after feedback.

• COPE Inventory (Carver et al., 1989)

  Measure completed at baseline, at Time 2 (two weeks after baseline), and at Time 3 (two weeks after Time 2).

Study Arms (4)

Wait-list Control

NO INTERVENTION

After all the final outcome measures have been completed at T3 (two weeks after Time 2), participants will be offered the PCPM-EFI and PERPM-EFI.

PCPM-EFI

EXPERIMENTAL

At Time 2 (two weeks after baseline), participants will receive the PCPM-EFI. Participants in the PCPM-EFI condition will be offered the PERPM-EFI after all assessments have been completed at Time 3.

Behavioral: Perfectionism and Coping Processes Model - Explanatory Feedback Intervention (PCPM-EFI)

PERPM-EFI

EXPERIMENTAL

At Time 2 (two weeks after baseline), participants will receive the PERPM-EFI. Participants in the PERPM-EFI condition will be offered the PCPM-EFI after all assessments have been completed at Time 3.

Behavioral: Perfectionism and Emotion Regulation Processes Model - Explanatory Feedback Intervention (PERPM-EFI)

PCPM-EFI plus PERPM-EFI

EXPERIMENTAL

At Time 2 (two weeks after baseline), participants will receive the PCPM-EFI plus the PERPM-EFI.

Behavioral: Perfectionism and Coping Processes Model - Explanatory Feedback Intervention (PCPM-EFI); Behavioral: Perfectionism and Emotion Regulation Processes Model - Explanatory Feedback Intervention (PERPM-EFI)

Interventions

Perfectionism and Coping Processes Model - Explanatory Feedback Intervention (PCPM-EFI) BEHAVIORAL

The PCPM-EFI provides individualized explanatory feedback of daily diary data demonstrating how stress and coping processes for each participant trigger and maintain their negative and positive mood. The feedback consists of five separate modules: (a) how changes in perceived criticism, self-blame, perceived control, avoidant coping, and event stress are connected to increases negative affect; (b) how changes in perceived social support, positive reinterpretation, perceived control, avoidant coping, and problem-focused coping are linked to increases in positive affect; (c) how self-critical perfectionism and maladaptive stress and coping tendencies explain enduring mood problems; (d) how healthy striving, adaptive appraisal, and coping tendencies can identify personal strengths; and, most important, (e) what the person needs to do to manage and improve his or her mood.

PCPM-EFI; PCPM-EFI plus PERPM-EFI

Perfectionism and Emotion Regulation Processes Model - Explanatory Feedback Intervention (PERPM-EFI) BEHAVIORAL

The PERPM-EFI provides individualized explanatory feedback of daily diary data demonstrating how stress and emotion regulation processes for each participant trigger and maintain their negative and positive mood. The feedback consists of five separate modules: (a) how changes in event stress, mindfulness, self-compassion, experiential avoidance, and rumination are connected to increases in negative affect, (b) how changes in event stress, mindfulness, reappraisal, self-compassion, and experiential avoidance are linked to increases in positive affect, (c) how self-critical perfectionism and maladaptive stress and emotion regulation tendencies explain enduring mood problems, (d) how healthy striving, adaptive appraisal, and emotion regulation tendencies can identify personal strengths, and, most important, (e) what the person needs to do to manage and improve his or her mood.

PCPM-EFI plus PERPM-EFI; PERPM-EFI

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 65 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Included in the study will be students who score 0.5 standard deviation above the mean score on two or more of four brief \[4- or 5-item\] measures of SC perfectionism (DEQ self-criticism, FMPS concern over mistakes, HMPS socially prescribed perfectionism, and APS-R discrepancy) for previous student samples

You may not qualify if:

• Individuals who meet the criteria for a diagnosis of depression or anxiety disorders and who do not have concomitant mental health care will be excluded from the study.
• Participants will be excluded if they fail to complete any of the Time 1 measures, or seven days of the daily diary procedure.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• McGill University: lead

Study Sites (1)

McGill University

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

RECRUITING

Related Publications (8)

• Tobin R, Dunkley DM. Self-critical perfectionism and lower mindfulness and self-compassion predict anxious and depressive symptoms over two years. Behav Res Ther. 2021 Jan;136:103780. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2020.103780. Epub 2020 Nov 23.

  PMID: 33259957 BACKGROUND

• Moroz M, Dunkley DM. Self-critical perfectionism, experiential avoidance, and depressive and anxious symptoms over two years: A three-wave longitudinal study. Behav Res Ther. 2019 Jan;112:18-27. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2018.11.006. Epub 2018 Nov 13.

  PMID: 30466031 BACKGROUND

• Aldea MA, Rice KG, Gormley B, Rojas A. Telling perfectionists about their perfectionism: Effects of providing feedback on emotional reactivity and psychological symptoms. Behav Res Ther. 2010 Dec;48(12):1194-203. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2010.09.003. Epub 2010 Sep 17.

  PMID: 20933221 BACKGROUND

• Dunkley DM, Lewkowski M, Lee IA, Preacher KJ, Zuroff DC, Berg JL, Foley JE, Myhr G, Westreich R. Daily Stress, Coping, and Negative and Positive Affect in Depression: Complex Trigger and Maintenance Patterns. Behav Ther. 2017 May;48(3):349-365. doi: 10.1016/j.beth.2016.06.001. Epub 2016 Jun 9.

  PMID: 28390498 BACKGROUND

• Dunkley DM, Zuroff DC, Blankstein KR. Self-critical perfectionism and daily affect: dispositional and situational influences on stress and coping. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2003 Jan;84(1):234-52.

  PMID: 12518982 BACKGROUND

• Dunkley DM, Mandel T, Ma D. Perfectionism, neuroticism, and daily stress reactivity and coping effectiveness 6 months and 3 years later. J Couns Psychol. 2014 Oct;61(4):616-33. doi: 10.1037/cou0000036. Epub 2014 Aug 11.

  PMID: 25111703 BACKGROUND

• Dunkley DM, Richard A, Tobin R, Saucier AM, Gossack A, Zuroff DC, Moskowitz DS, Foley JE, Russell JJ. Empowering self-critical perfectionistic students: A waitlist controlled feasibility trial of an explanatory feedback intervention on daily coping processes. J Couns Psychol. 2023 Oct;70(5):584-594. doi: 10.1037/cou0000691. Epub 2023 Jun 29.

  PMID: 37384489 BACKGROUND

• Dunkley DM, Ma D, Lee IA, Preacher KJ, Zuroff DC. Advancing complex explanatory conceptualizations of daily negative and positive affect: trigger and maintenance coping action patterns. J Couns Psychol. 2014 Jan;61(1):93-109. doi: 10.1037/a0034673.

  PMID: 24447060 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Psychological Well-Being; Emotional Regulation

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Personal Satisfaction; Behavior; Self-Control; Social Behavior

Study Officials

• David Dunkley, Ph.D.

  McGill University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

David Dunkley, Ph.D.

CONTACT

514.340.8222; david.dunkley@mcgill.ca

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Model Details: The four conditions will be: (a) waitlist control condition, (b) PCPM-EFI, (c) PERPM-EFI, and (d) PCPM-EFI plus PERPM-EFI.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 1, 2024
• First Posted: October 3, 2024
• Study Start: October 23, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026
• Last Updated: September 23, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CA (1)