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Published on: July 19, 2017
Perfectionism and anxiety: a paradox in intellectual giftedness?
Jacques-Henri Guignard1, Anne-Yvonne Jacquet, Todd I Lubart
1Centre National d'Aide pour enfant et adolescent à Haut Potentiel, Centre Hospitalier Guillaume Régnier, Rennes, France. jhguignard@free.fr
Abstract:
Numerous authors reported a prevalence of perfectionism in gifted populations. In addition, an unhealthy form of perfectionism that leads to anxiety disorder has been described. Using self-report measures (CAPS and R-CMAS) with 132 children, we hypothesized that intellectually gifted children express a higher level of perfectionism and anxiety. Our results pointed out a paradox: the gifted group obtained a higher self-oriented perfectionism score than the control group in 6th grade, but present the same level of anxiety. In contrast, the gifted group showed the same level of perfectionism than non-gifted 5(th) graders, but reported a higher anxiety level. Thus, the interplay between perfectionism and anxiety appears to be more complex than a simple linear relationship in giftedness.
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