Differences in social perfectionism prescribed in relation to school rejection

Abstract

The relationship between perfectionism and rejection of school is a field of research with few studies. The objective of this work was to analyze the relationship between Socially Prescribed Perfectionism (PSP) and rejection of the school based on the factors II (escape from social aversion and / or situations of school evaluation) and III (search for attention of other significant people) that justify this behavior. The sample consisted of 733 Spanish students between 8 and 12 years old (M = 10.03, SD = 1.25). The instruments used to establish this relationship were the Child and Adolescent Perfectionism Scale, to measure perfectionism, and the School Refusal Assessment Scale-Revised for Children, to evaluate school refusal. The results revealed that students who presented high scores in school refusal, due to the need to escape from social aversion and / or evaluation situations, had significantly higher PSP scores. Likewise, students with high school rejection based on the search for care of their loved ones, had significantly higher scores in PSP. Thus, the results supported that there is a positive relationship between these two variables. These results could be considered by teachers and school or clinical psychologists when designing prevention and intervention strategies in cases of rejection of the school.