Family Perfectionism among Russian College Students

BACKGROUND: Research documenting the consequences of perfectionism on psychopathology and academic achievement across diverse cultures proliferates. This paper situates the multidimensional model of perfectionism and the role of family perfectionism within a Russian context. OBJECTIVE: The main purposes are to investigate the psychometric properties of the Family Almost Perfect Scale (FAPS) among Russian college students and to explore whether the different types of perfectionistic families found in past studies are replicated in the sample. The impact of both personal and family aspects of perfectionism on psychological and academic outcomes is investigated. DESIGN: The psychometric properties of a Russian family perfectionism measure were examined using 169 students (50 men, 119 women), recruited at a national university in Perm, Russia. Their overall average age was 19.60 (SD = 0.63), ranging from 18 to 23 (Men: M = 19.72, SD = 0.76; Women: M = 19.55, SD = 0.56). RESULTS: Results indicated that the adjusted 15-item Russian Family Almost Perfect Scale (FAPS) yielded adequate factor structure, construct validity, and internal consistency reliability. The distinctively adaptive and maladaptive natures of the Family Standards and Family Discrepancy subscales were supported through correlations with psychological distress measures, as well as the three different types of perfectionistic families that were replicated through cluster analyses. The adaptive, maladaptive, and non-perfectionistic families mirrored the groups found in past studies. In comparing individuals of various family types, those from maladaptive perfectionistic families reported higher levels of depressive mood and anxiety than those from adaptive perfectionistic families. CONCLUSION: Findings implicate the relevancy of this construct to college students’ psychological well-being. The Russian FAPS could be used in future research to further explore perceived family perfectionism among Russian-speaking populations.