An assessment of the similarities between a measure of positive perfectionism and a measure of conscientious achievement striving

ObjectivesThe purpose of the study was to examine the similarities between the constructs measured by the positive perfectionism subscale from the Positive and Negative Perfectionism Scale and the achievement striving subscale from the Revised NEO Personality Inventory.DesignA non-experimental design was adopted.MethodOne-hundred and seventy-nine junior basketball players (age M = 16.50, s = 1.12) completed measures of positive perfectionism, conscientious achievement striving and other external measures.ResultsAnalyses revealed that the two scales were highly positively correlated and demonstrated a similar pattern of relationships with the external measures. However, a single latent factor model provided a comparatively poorer fit than a two latent factor model.ConclusionsThere is some evidence that the positive perfectionism and achievement striving constructs measured by the scales in this study are distinguishable as two distinct factors in a confirmatory factor analysis; however, more empirical evidence is needed to establish their substantive differences.

► The overlap between measures of perfectionism and conscientiousness were compared.
► The two measures were highly correlated.
► The two measures were related to other measures in a similar fashion.
► Confirmatory factor analysis supported their independence.
► The instruments assess distinct constructs.