The intergenerational transmission of perfectionism: Fathers' other-oriented perfectionism and daughters' perceived psychological control uniquely predict daughters' self-critical and personal standards perfectionism

•Studied perfectionism and paternal psychological control in 159 father-daughter dyads•Fathers' demands of perfection predicted daughters' self-critical perfectionism (SCP).•Fathers' demands of perfection predicted daughters' personal standards perfectionism (PSP).•Daughters' reports of fathers' psychological control predicted daughters' SCP and PSP.•Controlling and demanding fathers' have daughters high in SCP and PSP.

An often theorized but seldom tested possibility is perfectionism is traceable to parents who demanded perfection (other-oriented perfectionism) and parents who used controlling behaviors to dictate a child's thoughts, feelings, and actions (psychological control). In support, perceived parental psychological control correlates positively with self-critical perfectionism and personal standards perfectionism. Nevertheless, there remains much to learn. Does other-oriented perfectionism in fathers influence self-critical perfectionism and personal standards perfectionism in daughters? Alternatively, might the theoretically plausible link between fathers' other-oriented perfectionism and daughters' self-critical and personal standards perfectionism simply be secondary to paternal psychological control? We answered these important questions by studying 159 father-daughter dyads. Fathers completed measures of paternal psychological control and other-oriented perfectionism. Daughters completed measures of perceived paternal psychological control, self-critical perfectionism, and personal standards perfectionism. Structural equation modeling revealed both fathers' other-oriented perfectionism and daughters' reports of fathers' psychological control uniquely predicted daughters' self-critical perfectionism and daughters' personal standards perfectionism. Findings lend credence to longstanding theoretical accounts suggesting controlling fathers who demand perfection are more likely to raise daughters with elevated socially-based and self-generated pressures to be perfect.