Positive and Negative Perfectionism among Chinese Gifted Students in Hong Kong: Their Relationships to General Self-Efficacy and Subjective Well-Being

Abstract

This study evaluated the viability of using a self-report instrument to assess separately the positive form and negative form of perfectionism among 317 Chinese gifted students in Hong Kong. These students tended to endorse positive perfectionism more than negative perfectionism. Positive and negative perfectionism were also found to relate differentially to life satisfaction and positive affect, as well as negative affect—the three components of subjective well-being. Although positive and negative perfectionism could be inferred to impact directly on subjective well-being, the mediating role of general self-efficacy in the relationships between perfectionism and subjective well-being was also suggested. Implications of the findings for future research on perfectionism scale development and on the complex relationships among positive and negative perfectionism, general self-efficacy, and the three components of subjective well-being are discussed.