Perfectionism, discrepancies, and depression: Testing the perfectionism social disconnection model in a short-term, four-wave longitudinal study Simon B. Sherry a,b,⇑ , Anna L. MacKinnon a , Kristin-Lee Fossum a , Martin M. Antony c , Sherry H. Stewart a,b , Dayna L. Sherry d , Logan J. Nealis a , Aislin R. Mushquash a a Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University, 1355 Oxford Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H4R2 b Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, 5909 Veteran’s Memorial Lane, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H2E2 c Department of Psychology, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5B2K3 d Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, 1276 South Park Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H2Y9 article info Article history: Received 23 May 2012 Received in revised form 17 November 2012 Accepted 21 November 2012 Available online xxxx Keywords: Perfectionism Discrepancies Social maladjustment Depression abstract Perfectionistic concerns (i.e., negative reactions to failures, exaggerated concerns over others’ criticism and expectations, and nagging self-doubts) are linked to social disconnection and depressive symptoms. According to the perfectionism social disconnection model, perfectionistic concerns contribute to social disconnection (i.e., feeling rejected, excluded, and unwanted by others) which, subsequently, contributes to depressive symptoms. The social world is replete with chances for interpretations. In interpreting their social worlds, people high in perfectionistic concerns tend to perceive interpersonal discrepancies, a dis- tressing form of social disconnection that involves perceptions of others as dissatisfied with them and as disapproving of them. These interpretations are also conceptualized as having depressing consequences for people high in perfectionistic concerns. This study tested whether perceived interpersonal discrepan- cies mediate the relation between perfectionistic concerns and depressive symptoms; 240 participants were recruited and this mediational model was tested with a four-wave, 4-week longitudinal design. Structural equation modeling with bootstrapped tests of mediation indicated the perfectionistic con- cerns-depressive symptoms relationship was mediated by interpersonal discrepancies (even after con- trolling for perfectionistic strivings). People high in perfectionistic concerns perceive others as dissatisfied with them and as disapproving of them. Feeling rejected, excluded, and unwanted by others, people high in perfectionistic concerns are vulnerable to depression. Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Perfectionism is a risk factor for and maintenance factor in emo- tional distress (Stoeber & Yang, 2010). In particular, perfectionism is linked with depressive symptoms—even after controlling for well-established contributors to depressive symptoms such as neuroticism (Sherry & Hall, 2009). Although perfectionism plays an important role in depressive symptoms, the mechanisms through which perfectionism influences depressive symptoms need explication. 1.1. Improving research on perfectionism and depressive symptoms Notable limitations exist in research on perfectionism and depressive symptoms. Most research in this area uses cross-sec- tional or two-wave longitudinal designs. Cross-sectional designs prevent causal inferences, since they fail to address directionality or temporal precedence. Two-wave longitudinal designs capture a narrow slice of change and often involve temporal confounding (e.g., a mediator and a criterion both measured at Wave 2). Collect- ing three or more waves of data better captures changes over time and, for mediational designs, permits assessment of temporally independent predictors, mediators, and outcomes. In the present study, we used a four-wave longitudinal design that enabled stron- ger causal inferences. Longitudinal studies with widely spaced measurement intervals (e.g., 12 months) test long-term relationships, but may miss impor- tant experiences due to infrequent sampling. Our study involved weekly measurement intervals, which minimize recall bias. Data collected over shorter intervals may also better capture short-term micro-transactions between participants and their social environ- ments. This is important as social phenomena were key to our study. Short-term, multiwave longitudinal designs also increase reliability by repeatedly assessing events. Studies show links among perfectionism and depressive symp- toms, perfectionism and social problems, and social problems and 0191-8869/$ - see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2012.11.017 ⇑ Corresponding author at: Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University, 1355 Oxford Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H4R2. Tel.: +1 902 494 8070; fax: +1 902 494 6585. E-mail address: simon.sherry@dal.ca (S.B. Sherry). Personality and Individual Differences xxx (2012) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Personality and Individual Differences journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/paid Please cite this article in press as: Sherry, S. B., et al. Perfectionism, discrepancies, and depression: Testing the perfectionism social disconnection model in a short-term, four-wave longitudinal study. Personality and Individual Differences (2012), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2012.11.017