An Examination of the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale with a Sample of Academically Talented Children

The Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS; Frost, Marten, Lahart, & Rosenblate, 1990) was constructed and normed on an all-female college student sample. The present study is a psychometric examination of the instrument for use with a mixed-gender sample of 855 academically talented children who were participating in the longitudinal Developmental Study of Talented Youth conducted by the Center for Talented Youth of Johns Hopkins University. The internal consistency of the MPS total score was .87; coefficient alphas for the subscales ranged from .67 to .90. The matrix of intercorrelations of MPS subscales was consistent with that obtained with the college sample used to develop the instrument. A confirmatory item factor analysis demonstrated an acceptable degree of fit. A factor analysis of raw scores on the MPS subscales yielded two factors. The first factor appears to represent dysfunctional perfectionism, the second factor reflects healthy perfectionism. The scores on these factors were correlated with the five-factor domain scores obtained on the NEO-FFI. The first factor correlated most strongly with N (Neuroticism); the second factor correlated most strongly with C (Conscientiousness).