The pursuit of perfection in spiritual engagements: The centrality of parental expectations as a positive and unique predictor

•Examined multidimensional perfectionism in different types of spirituality.•Adaptive dimensions of perfectionism were generally associated with greater spirituality.•Maladaptive dimensions of perfectionism were generally associated with lower spirituality.•Parental expectations were uniquely and positively associated with different types of spirituality.

In the present study, we examined the relations between perfectionism and spirituality in a sample of college students. Results of correlational analyses were generally consistent with the notion that adaptive perfectionism dimensions (e.g., personal standards & organization) were positively associated with spirituality, whereas maladaptive perfectionism dimensions (e.g., concern over mistakes, parental criticism) were negatively associated with spirituality. Furthermore, results of conducting regression analyses provided support for perfectionism dimensions as unique predictors of different dimensions of spirituality. Interestingly, we found parental expectations to be a positive and unique predictor for all three dimensions of spirituality. Some implications on the importance of the present findings for future research on perfectionism and spirituality in adults are discussed.