Dimensions of Perfectionism in Children and Adolescents with Obsessive-compulsive Disorder.

OBJECTIVE: To measure the association of perfectionism with obsessive-compulsive and depressive symptoms in children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). METHOD: Sample consisted of 94 youth (44 boys, 49 girls; mean age = 13.2 y, SD = 2.5 y) with a DSM-IV diagnosis of OCD. Perfectionism beliefs were measured with both the Adaptive/Maladaptive Perfectionism Scale (AMPS) and a 14-item version of the Child and Adolescents Perfectionism Scale (CAPS-14). Using a hierarchical linear-regression model, we measured the association of perfectionist beliefs with severity of OCD and depressive symptoms. RESULTS: Both AMPS and CAPS-14 scores were associated with the severity of OCD symptoms in our sample. In addition, CAPS-14 scores were associated with the severity of depressive symptoms, even when OCD symptoms were taken into account. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings lend further support to the hypothesis that perfectionism in youth with OCD is associated with variation in the severity of OCD and depressive symptoms.