The perfectionism social disconnection model: The mediating role of communication styles

The perfectionism social disconnection model contends that perfectionism is negatively associated with social support. Researchers have investigated the mechanisms by which perfectionism may lower social support; however, no extant study has explored the role of communication styles. The purpose of this study was to explore whether communication styles mediate the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and perceived social support in a large sample of U.S. college students. Results found that maladaptive perfectionism had a negative direct effect on social support as well as a negative indirect effect through preciseness and verbal aggressiveness as well as a positive indirect effect through emotionality. This suggests that perfectionism may lower perceived social support through more aggressive and precise communication patterns but also may increase perceived social support through communication about negative emotions.