Increasing researches have focused on perfectionism recently. Most researchers are interested with the behavioral traits of perfectionist, the relation of perfectionism and mental health, and the influencing factors of perfectionism. However, only a few researchers explored it from a developmental perspective. Studies among adults have disclosed that perfectionism declines with age. Nevertheless, the findings on the trend of the perfectionism development among adolescents remain inconsistent. In the present study, the development of positive perfectionism, negative perfectionism among normal junior middle school students was explored. The results suggested that there was no grade effect on either positive perfectionism or negative perfectionism. Besides, the effects of implicit and explicit self-esteem on perfectionism were also explored in the present study. Self-esteem which is the center component of the self- system plays an important role in the development of individual personality. Consistent with previous researches, the findings implied that explicit self-esteem was positively correlated with adaptive perfectionism and was negatively correlated with maladaptive perfectionism. Furthermore, the relations between adaptive/maladaptive perfectionism and explicit self-esteem strengthened with grades. Implicit self-esteem means an individual’s implicit attitude towards self. The results suggested that the relation between implicit self-esteem and perfectionism was unstable across grades. For Grade 6, implicit self-esteem was negatively related with adaptive perfectionism; however, for Grade 8, implicit self-esteem was positively related with both adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism. There was the interaction of implicit and explicit self-esteem on perfectionism in the sample of Grade 8. Those with higher implicit self-esteem and lower explicit self-esteem reported higher levels of adaptive perfectionism, personal standards and concern over mistakes.
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