Abstract
Positive and negative perfectionism were assessed in a sample of 298 Chinese gifted students in Hong Kong. These students, regardless of gender and grade level, tended to endorse positive perfectionism more than negative perfectionism. Positive perfectionism was found to associate positively and significantly with teacher ratings on student social functioning and leadership, and negative perfectionism was found to associate negatively and significantly with teacher ratings on the same areas. These correlations suggested that teacher ratings on relevant student functioning could provide clues to the students' endorsement of positive or negative perfectionism. Positive and negative perfectionism were also predicted significantly by active coping strategies and passive coping strategies, respectively, suggesting that the endorsement of positive perfectionism might be promoted through enhancing the use of active coping approaches. Implications of the findings for future research on the complex relationships among positive and negative perfectionism, teacher ratings, and student coping strategies are discussed.
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