MANIFESTATIONS OF PERFECTIONISM, MULTIDIMENSIONAL PERFECTIONISM, AND SELF-ATTITUDE ACROSS DIFFERENT AGE PERIODS

Perfectionism is widely recognized as a multidimensional personality trait that shapes how individuals set standards for themselves, evaluate their own conduct, and relate to their own selfhood across the lifespan. The present study examined age-related variation in striving for perfection, multidimensional perfectionism (self-oriented, other-oriented, and socially prescribed), and self-attitude among a large adult sample. A total of 1,052 respondents divided into five age cohorts — early youth (n = 207), adolescence (n = 213), youth (n = 211), maturity (n = 209), and the second stage of maturity (n = 212) — completed the Striving for Perfection Test (W. Gaulter), the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (Hewitt & Flett), and the Self-Attitude Questionnaire (Stolin & Panteleev). Kruskal-Wallis analyses revealed statistically significant age-related differences on nearly every scale, including striving for perfection (H = 135.66, p < .001), self-oriented perfectionism (H = 47.05, p < .001), and other-oriented perfectionism (H = 70.44, p < .001), whereas socially prescribed perfectionism did not differ significantly by age (H = 2.48, p = .649). Self-attitude components followed a broadly similar curvilinear pattern, rising from early youth through maturity before a modest decline in the second stage of maturity, with self-blame the only subscale that failed to reach significance. These findings suggest that perfectionistic strivings intensify across early and middle adulthood and interact closely with the developing structure of self-attitude, carrying implications for age-sensitive psychological support and counselling practice.