Current conceptualizations of perfectionism view the construct as consisting of two subtypes: adaptive and maladaptive. Although research in perfectionism has investigated negative outcomes such as depression and anxiety, little research has investigated how a general sample of children identified as perfectionists differentially might perceive their quality of life. In this exploratory study, a total of 132 middle school students were administered the Almost Perfect Scale-Revised and the Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale. Results indicated that both perfectionist subtypes reported significantly higher global satisfaction than did nonperfectionists, whereas adaptive perfectionists reported significantly higher satisfaction ratings on self-satisfaction than both maladaptive and nonperfectionists. Implications of these findings are suggested.
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