Associations between parental overprotection, maladaptive perfectionism, and chronic and acute stress reactivity

Abstract

Long-term stress exposure is associated with a wide range of different negative health consequences. In addition, numerous studies show an influence of maladaptive perfectionism on stress reactivity. A frequently discussed explanation for the development of maladaptive perfectionist attitudes refers to parental influences. In this study, the relationship between parental overprotection, maladaptive perfectionism, and acute and chronic stress reactivity were investigated in a standardized laboratory setting. For this purpose, 67 healthy students (59.7% female, age mean= 21.60; age SD= 3.10) were invited to the laboratory twice to be subjected to an acute stress condition using the Montreal Imaging Stress Task (MIST), or a relaxation condition using relaxation videos. Psychological questionnaires were used to record maladaptive perfectionism, parental criticism, parental overprotection, and vital exhaustion as a measure of chronic stress reactivity. While no significant increase in cortisol was observed in response to the MIST, a significant correlation between maladaptive perfectionism and vital exhaustion was shown with regard to chronic stress. In addition, a mediation effect of parental criticism on the relationship between parental overprotection and maladaptive perfectionism could be demonstrated. These results suggest that parenting styles are associated with the child’s personality characteristics, and chronic stress levels later in life. The results are discussed in the light of strengths and limitations of the study.