DIMENSIONS OF PERFECTIONISM AND SUICIDE IDEATION

Two studies were conducted to examine the relation between dimensions of perfectionism and suicide ideation: whether perfectionism is important in suicide ideation when considered in the context of other predictors of suicide (i.e., depression, hopelessness), and whether perfectionism moderates the association between life stress and suicide ideation. Samples of 91 psychiatric patients (Study 1) and 160 college students (Study 2) completed the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, the Hopelessness Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Scale For Suicide Ideation. The subjects in Study 2 also completed a measure of negative life stress. Overall, the results confirmed that self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism are associated with greater suicide ideation. Moreover, these two perfectionism dimensions contributed uniquely to the discrimination of suicide groups and both moderated the link between life stress and suicide ideation. The findings are discussed in terms of their practical and theoretical implications.