Understanding the link between perfectionism and adjustment in college students: Examining the role of maximizing

The present study examined the relations between perfectionism, maximizing, and psychosocial adjustment in a sample of 331 college students. Consistent with past research, perfectionism was found to be associated with adjustment (viz., life satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, & low personal accomplishment). Results of regression analyses indicated that even after controlling for maximizing, perfectionism continued to account for a significant amount of additional unique variance in each adjustment measure. Implications of the present findings for future research are discussed.