Abstract

The present study aimed at investigating the effect of different perfectionistic latent profiles on university students’ personal goal orientation and coping strategies. Four hundred thirty nine university students (82.5% females) from various departments (38.5% freshmen) participated in the study. Students were asked to complete anonymously three self-report questionnaires in groups in their university classes: (a) the Almost Perfect Scale-Revised was used for measuring perfectionism as a multidimensional construct, (b) the Personal Achievement Goals questionnaire for measuring achievement goal orientation (mastery orientation, performance-approach orientation, and performance-avoidance orientation), and (c) the R-COPE questionnaire for measuring adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies for everyday problems. Latent class analysis was conducted in order to create categorical perfectionistic profiles. The data support the three-group model of adaptive and maladaptive perfectionists and non-perfectionists. The adaptive and maladaptive perfectionistic profiles differ in the level of discrepancy between personal standards and accomplishments and significantly predicted adaptive and maladaptive achievement motivation and coping, respectively.

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