The Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS; Frost, Marten, Lahart, & Rosenblate, 1990) was administered to 219 youth in the Czech Republic. The sample was composed of both mathematically gifted and typical students. As previously found in U.S. samples, two distinct orthogonal constructs of perfectionism were identified, indicating that healthy and unhealthy perfectionism are not opposite poles on a single continuum but, instead, are independent constructs. In this sample, perfectionism was more problematic among the typical than among the gifted students. The relationship between perfectionism and parent-reported adjustment problems and psychosomatic conditions was fairly weak. Asthma was related to parental pressures, and depression was related to concerns over making mistakes; but the magnitude of the relationship was quite modest. The strongest and most consistent result was found in migraine headaches, with the migraines negatively related to high personal standards and a healthy pursuit of excellence.
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