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Social and Behavioral Sciences
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 30 (2011) 565 - 572
WCPCG-2011
The relationships among perfectionism, self criticism and identity styles in Turkish university students
Demet Erol Ongen a *
aAkdeniz Universitys ,Antalya 07058, Turkey
Abstract
The purpose of this research was to study the relationships among two dysfunctional forms of negative self-evaluation (comparative self-criticism and internalized self-criticism), adaptive perfectionism (high standards and orderliness), maladaptive perfectionism (discrepancy) and identity styles of first year university students .196 university students completed The Levels of Self-Criticism (LOSC, Thompson and Zuroff, 2002).), the Almost Perfect Scale-Revised (APS-R; Slaney et al., 2001) and the revised Identity Style Inventory (ISI-3; Berzonsky, 1992). Expectedly, regression analyses showed that information-orientation identity style was positively predicted by high standards and internalized self-criticism. Normative-orientation identity style was positively predicted by order but unexpectedly, it was also predicted positively by high standards. Diffuse-avoidant identity style was negatively predicted by order and it was positively predicted by comparative self-criticism. In line with expectations, commitment was positively predicted by high standards and it was negatively predicted by discrepancy. © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of the 2nd World Conference on Psychology, Counselling and Guidance.
Keywords: Adolescence; identity styles; self-criticism; adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism
1. Introduction
According to Erikson's (1968) life-span theory of psychosocial development, adolescents undergo the identity-formation process. The development of a stable and coherent sense of personal identity is a developmental task of adolescence, which involves the ego's ability to synthesize and integrate important earlier identifications into a n ew form uniquely one's own. Since Erikson first presented the identity-formation process, there have been many attempts to operationalize and study this concept. The identity-status model developed by Marcia's (1966) defines individual differences in identity formation along the dimensions of exploration and commitment. Exploration and commitment variables used by Marcia to define the identity statuses were taken directly from the part of Erikson's construct of identity. Exploration refers to the degree to which an individual engages in sustained research of various alternatives or possible selves. Commitment represents the individual's adherence to specific (long term) goals, values and ideals. Based on this dimensions, Marcia, defined four identity statuses: achievement (high exploration, high commitment), moratorium (high exploration, low commitment), foreclosure (low exploration, high commitment,) and diffusion (low exploration, low commitment).
Although Marcia's identity statuses model focuses primarily on the outcomes of the identity formation process, it can also be conceptualized in terms of a process oriented dynamic model. Berzonsky (1989) has presented a model
* Demet Erol Öngen. Tel.: +902423102072; fax: +902422261953. E-mail address: demetongen@akdeniz.edu.tr.
ELSEVIER
1877-0428 © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of the 2nd World Conference on Psychology,
Counselling and Guidance.
doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.10.110
of identity and a system of clasiffication based on social-cognitive strategies used by individuals in the process of structuring identity statuses. Focusing on the exploration process, he distinguishes three distinct categories of identity style: information-oriented, normative, and diffuse-avoidant style.
An information oriented style involves the process of exploration by actively seeking out and evaluating information that is relevant for the identity before making decisions and constructing commitments. According to Berzonsky (1990) information-oriented adolescents are critical towards their self-conceptions and when confronted with discrepant information about themselves they are willing to revise their self-conceptions, which would result in a well differentiated and integrated sense of personal identity. A normative style involves to rely on the norms and expectations of significant others (e.g., parents and authority figures) when confronted with identity relevant information and or issues. Normative adolescents rigidly adhere to their existing identity structure as they are "closed" to information that threatens their values an beliefs. A diffuse-avoidant style involves avoiding personal issues and procrastinating decisions until situational demands dictate their behavior. Diffuse-avoidant adolescents would accomodate their identity in function of the changing social demands, without well established identity. The diffuse avoidant style results in a fragmented identity structure, most characteristics of which is a low level of active information processing. Berzonsky (1992a) included a separate measure of commitment in his Identity Style Inventory (ISI). Although commitment is more of an outcome or end point than an exploration process, it is relevant for the present study.
Perfectionism
Perfectionism is described as 'striving for flawlessness' (Flett & Hewitt, 2002) and was examined primarily from a pathological perspective that was rooted in clinical observations and studies that associated perfectionism with physical problems, psychological disorders, and psychiatric conditions (Shafran & Mansell, 2001). On the other hand many researchers argue that perfectionism must be considered as a multidimensional, rather than unidimensional construct and a distinction must be made between neurotic perfectionism, which is maladaptive and normal perfectionism, which is adaptive (Frost et al, 1990; Hamachek, 1978). According to Slaney et al. (2001) high standards and orderliness capture the essential and adaptive aspects of perfectionism. A person holding high standards for his performance has high expectations for himself or herself. Orderliness, neatness, or organization is integral to the definition of perfectionism, most often in combination with high standards. For an orderly person, neatness is important and he or she likes to be organized and disciplined. The defining negative aspect of perfectionism is the concept of discrepancy -the perceived discrepancy between the standards one has for oneself and one's actual performance.
Self-criticism
According to Thompson and Zuroff (2004) there are two dysfunctional forms of negative self evaluation: comparative self-criticism and internalized self-criticism. Comparative self-criticism is defined as a negative view of the self in comparison with others. The focus at this level is on the unfavarouble comparison of the self with others, who are seen as superior and as hostile or critical; consequently, there is discomfort with being evaluated or exposed to others. The other level of self criticism, internalized self-criticism is defined by a negative view of the self in comparison with internal, personal standards. According to Thompson and Zuroff (2004) these internal standards tend to be both high and constantly receding, resulting in a chronic failure to meet one's own standards. The focus of internalized self-criticism is not on comparison with others, but on one's own view of the self as deficient.
Although the development of a stable and coherent identity is considered a central developmental task during adolescents, not all adolescents are equally successful in negotiating this task (Erikson, 1968). The studies addressing the possible role of socialization in the identity exploration process examined the relations among parenting styles and Berzonsky's identity styles. For example, adolescents with an information oriented style were found to perceive their parents as authoritative while adolescents with normative identity style were found to perceive their parents as authoritarian. And diffuse avoidant style was found to relate to authoritarianism and permissiveness (Berzonsky, 2004). Adams et al. (2006) examined the role of psychosocial resources in identity processes the first year university students and found that normative style was positively related to cohesive trusting
family relations while diffuse-avoidant style was related to lack of expressiveness in family communications. Smith et al. (2008) examined the three crucial dimensions of parenting style namely, support, behavioural control and psychological control and found that an information-orientation style was positively predicted by parental support and psychological control while a normative identity style was positively predicted by support and behavioural control. A diffuse avoidant identity style was positively predicted by psychological control and negatively by maternal behavioral control.
There are also studies addressing the relations among Berzonsky's identity styles and Marcia's identity statuses and parenting styles on Turkish adolescents. The study conducted on Turkish college students found positive relations between the information oriented style and authoritative and authoritarian parenting (Qelen & Ku§dil, 2006). Cakir and Aydin (2005) also studied the relations among parental attitudes, namely acceptance/involvement, strictness/supervision, and psychological autonomy and ego-identity statuses of Turkish university students. The results revealed that children of authoritative (high involvement and high supervision) parents scored significantly higher on identity foreclosure than those of neglectful (low involvement and low supervision) parents. Children of permissive (high involvement and low supervision) parents scored significantly higher on identity foreclosure than those of neglectful (low involvement and low supervision) parents. In another study conducted on Turkish university students showed that the identity achievement scores of the students decreased depending on the evaluation of insensitivity and inconsistency within the family while the scores of moratorium and identity diffusion increased (Akman, 2007).
The studies on the relations between parenting style dimensions and identity styles concern external control mechanism such as behavioral control and psychological control. However, little research devoted attention to the relations between internal control mechanisms and identity styles. Therefore, the present study examines the relations between the identity styles and internal control mechanisms such as self-criticism and perfectionism. It is hypothesized that the central and defining adaptive aspect of perfectionism namely high standards would be the positive predictor of the information orientation style and the positive predictor of commitment. The other adaptive aspect of perfectionism namely, order would be the positive predictor of the normative-orientation style and the negative predictor of the diffuse-avoidant style. The maladaptive aspect of perfectionism namely, discrepancy would be the negative predictor of commitment. As regards to self-criticism, it is hypothesized that comparative self-criticism would be the positive predictor of the normative oriented style while internalized self-criticism would be the positive predictor of the information orientation style.
2. Method
1.). Participants
Participants were 196 (70 male, 126 female) Turkish university students enrolled in educational psychology course at a publicly financed state university in Turkey. The students were freshmen from various departments of Education Faculty. Their age ranged from 18 to 25 years with a mean of 19 years. No reward was given for participating in the study. Anonymity was guaranteed.
1.1. PraacBurc
Groups of students at each department completed the questionnaires during a class period. In order to standardize the procedures, the scales were administered to all participants in the following order: The revised Identity Style Inventory (ISI-3), the Levels of Self Criticism scale (LOSC) and Submissive Acts Scale (SAS). Permission for the participation of the students was obtained from the school principle and the dean.
1.3. Instruments
Identity-styles were measured by using a Turkish version of the revised Identity Style Inventory (ISI-3, Berzonsky, 1992). It contains a ten item information orientation scale (e.g., "I have spent a lot o f time reading and trying to make some sense out of political issues."), a nine item normative orientation scale (e.g., "I prefer to deal
with situations where I can rely on social norms and standards), a ten item diffuse/avoidant orientation scale (e.g., "I am not really sure what I am doing in school; I guess things will work themselves out."); a ten item commitment scale (e.g., "I know what I want to do with my future."). The items were scored on a 5-point Likert scales, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The ISI-3 was translated from English into Turkish by the researcher, and the Turkish version was back-translated into English by a colleague with a degree in English Language Teaching. Small dissimilarities between the original scale and the back-translated version were resolved through consencus. Cronbach alphas were, .62, .45, .64, and .57 for the information orientation scale, normative orientation scale, diffuse/avoidant orientation scale and commitment scale, respectively.
Perfectionism was measured by using a Turkish version of the Almost Perfect Scale-Revised (APS-R; Slaney et al., 2001), which consists of 23 items. Participants respond to the items using a five point Likert rating scale (ranging from 1= "strongly disagree" to 5= "strongly agree"). The APS-R has three factors: The High Standards Factor, the Order Factor, and the Discrepancy Factor. There are 7 items indicating The High Standards factor (e.g., "If you don't expect much out of yourself you will never succeed."); 12 items indicate the Discrepancy factor (e.g., "Doing my best never seems to be enough."); and 4 items indicate the Order factor (e.g., "Neatness is important to me."). The Turkish adaptation of the scale was conducted by Ongen (2009).
The self criticism was measured by using the Turkish version of the Levels of Self Criticism Scale (LOSC, Thompson and Zuroff, 2002). The adolescents were asked to indicate their degree of agree with each statement on a 5-point scale ranging from this is a very bad description of me to this is a very good description of me. There are 12 CSC items (eg., "If you are open with other people about your weaknesses, they are likely to still respect you.") and 10 ISC items (eg., "I often get very angry with my-self when I fail."). The Turkish adaptation of the scale was conducted by Ongen (2006).
3. Results
Four separate multiple regression analyses were conducted using the APS-R subscales scores (the high standards, the order and the discrepancy) and the LOSC sub-scales scores (comparative self-criticism and internalized self-criticism) as independent variables and the ISI-3 subscales scores (information-orientation style, normative style, diffuse-avoidant style and commitment) as the dependent variables respectively.
The descriptive statistics and zero order correlations for the variables included in the study are presented in Table 1. The identity styles correlated with eachother. The information orientation style was positively correlated with the normative orientation style. The information orientation style and the normative orientation style was negatively correlated with the diffuse-orientation style. The information orientation style and the normative orientation style were positively correlated with commitment. The information orientation style was positively correlated with high standards, order and internalized self-criticism. The normative-oriented style was positively correlated with high standards and order. The diffuse-avoidant style was positively correlated with discrepancy and comparative self-criticism but negatively with order. Commitment was negatively correlated with discrepancy.
Table 1. Means, standard deviations and zero order correlations among study variables
Variables
1. Information orientataion
2. Normative orientation
3. Diffuse-avoidant orientation
4. Commitment
5. Discrepancy
6. High
29.91 25.39
4.25 .28**
6.34 -.15*
5.07 .34**
9.62 .06 6.64 .27**
-.20**
.09 .29**
-.34**
.16* -.09
-.29** .11
standards
7. Order 14.65 4.76 .18* .34** -.19** .09 .01 .36**
8. Comparative self-criticism 33.12 5.64 .00 -.03 .26** -.11 .36** .12 -.09
9. Internalized self-criticism 32.18 7.64 .24** .18 .10 -.12 .55** .44** 23** 23**
* p < .0.05
** p < .0.01
To study the variance in four identity styles of Identity Style Inventory subscale scores, namely the information-orientation style, the normative orientation style, the diffuse-avoidant style and the commitment scores, multiple regression analyses were performed. The results of the multiple regression analysis testing the effect of discrepancy, order, high-standards, comparative self-criticism and internalized self-criticism on the information-orientation-style are given in Table 2. As reported in Table 2, standardized beta coefficients showed that high-standards and internalized self-criticism were statistically significant positive predictors of the information-orientation-style. Highstandards scores explained 20% of the variance and internalized self-criticism scores explained 22% of the variance for the information orientation style.
Table 2. Multiple regression analysis predicting information-orientation identity style
Predictors B SE B ß t P
Constant 32.88 2.85 11.54 .000
Discrepancy -.07 .05 -.13 -1.44 .153
High-standards .17 .07 .20* 2.43 .016
Order .07 .09 .06 .79 .431
Comparative self-criticism -.02 .07 -.02 -.31 .757
Internalized self-criticism .16 .07 .22* 2.47 .015
R=.33 R2=.11 F(5,190)= 4,675 *p <.05.
The results of the multiple regression analysis testing the effects of discrepancy, order, high standards, comparative self-criticism and internalized self-criticism on the normative-orientation-style are given in Table 3. As reported in Table 3, standardized beta coefficients showed that high-standards and order were statistically significant positive predictors of the normative orientation-style. High-standards scores explained 17% of the variance and order scores explained 27% of the variance for the normative-orientation style.
Table 3. Multiple regression analysis predicting normative-orientation identity style
Predictors B SE B ß t
„ , , 25.64 2.10 12.24 .000
Constant
.01 .04 .02 .20 .839
Discrepancy
Tr , . , , .11 .05 .17* 2.15 .033
High-standarsds
Comparative self-criticism
Internalized self-criticism_
R=.39 ...R2=.15......F(5,190)= 6,750
*p <.05. **p <.001.
The results of the multiple regression analysis testing the effects of discrepancy, order, high standards, comparative self-criticism and internalized self-criticism on diffuse-avoidant style are given in Table 4. As reported in Table 4, standardized beta coefficients showed that order was statistically significant negative predictor of diffuse-avoidant identity style while comparative self-criticism was statistically significant positive predictor of the diffuse-avoidant identity style. Order scores explained 16% of the variance and comparative self-criticism scores explained 21% of the variance for the diffuse-avoidant identity style.
Table 4. Multiple regression analysis predicting diffuse-avoidant identity style
.24 -.04 .02
.07 .05 .05
-.05 .04
3.65 -.65 .46
.000 .516 .646
Predictors B SE B ß t P
Constant 20.89 3.18 6.57 .000
Discrepancy .05 .06 .08 .91 .366
High-standards -.13 .08 -.14 -1.67 .096
Order -.21 .10 -.16* -2.10 .037
Comparative self-criticism .23 .08 .21** 2.83 .005
Internalized self-cricism .09 .07 .11 1.21 .228
R=.34 R2=.12 F(5,190)= 5,205 *p <.05. **p <.01.
The results of the multiple regression analysis testing the effects of discrepancy, order, high standards, comparative self-criticism and internalized self-criticism on commitment are given in Table 5. As reported in Table 5 standardized beta coefficients showed that discrepancy was statistically significant negative predictor of commitment and high-standards was statistically significant positive predictor of commitment. Discrepancy scores explained 36% of the variance and high-standards scores explained 24% of the variance for commitment.
Table 5. Multiple regression analysis predicting commitment
Predictors
Constant Discrepancy High-standards Order
Comparative self-criticism
38.45 -.19 .19 .02 -.00
2.52 .05 .06 .08 .07
■.36*** .24** .02 -.00
15.24 -4.23 3.03 .25 -.01
.000 .000 .003 .804 .993
Internalized self-criticism "01 06 -02 -24
R=.37... R2=.14 F(4,191)= 6.008 * p <.05. **p <.01 *** p <.0001.
4. Discussion
This study was designed to investigate the relationships among two dysfunctional forms of negative self-evaluation (comparative self-criticism and internalized self-criticism), adaptive perfectionism (high standards and orderliness), maladaptive perfectionism (discrepancy) and identity styles of 196 first year Turkish university students. As expected, the identity styles correlated with each other. The information-orientation style was positively correlated with the normative orientation style (r= .28) and negatively with diffuse-avoidant style (r=.-15). The normative orientation style was also negatively correlated with the diffuse-avoidant style (r=-.20). As can be expected, commitment was positively correlated with the information orientation style (r= .34) and with the normative orientation style (r= .36), whereas it was negatively correlated with the diffuse-avoidant orientation style (r= -.34). The intercorrelations between the identity styles are consistent with the Celen and Kusdil (2006) study conducted on Turkish university students. These results showed that there is a positive relation between the information orientations style, the normative orientation style and commitment, while the relationship between diffused-avoidant style and commitment is negative. As there is a commitment in both the information oriented and normative oriented style, it can be argued that Berzonsky's model of identity is supported.
The central and defining adaptive aspects of perfectionism are order and high standards. It was hypothesized that high standards would be the positive predictor of the information orientation style. As hypothesized, high standards was found to be the positive predictor of the information orientation style. An explanation for this finding is that an adolescent holding high standards for his performance and having high expectations for himself would also be critical towards his self-concept and open to new information, which would result in information orientation style. But unexpectedly, high standards was also found to be the positive predictor of the normative orientation style. An explanation of this unexpected finding seems to lie in Turkish culture. Although moving towards more Western values, Turkish families are currently based on traditional values which are characterized by an emphasis on interpersonal and close ties with family. Therefore Turkish university students on whom this research was conducted seem to be influenced by the prescriptions and expectations of significant others such as parents when establishing their high standards. It was hypothesized that order would be the positive predictor of the normative orientation style. As hypothesized, order was found to be the positive predictor of the normative orientation style. An explanation of this finding is that an adolescent for whom neatness is important and who likes to be organized and disciplined would attach a lot of importance to preserving his rigidly organised identity, which would result in normative-oriented style. It was hypothesized that order would be the negative predictor of the diffuse-avoidant style. As hypothesized, order was found to be the negative predictor of the diffuse-avoidant style. An explanation for this finding is that an adolescent for whom orderliness, neatness, or organization is important would also be organized about his self concept, which would not result in diffuse-avoidant style. It was hypothesized that the maladaptive aspect of perfectionism namely discrepancy would be the negative predictor of commitment. As hypothesized, discrepancy was found to be the negative predictor of commitment. An explanation for this finding is that an adolescent having perceived discrepancy between his standards and his actual performance would not provide him with a sense of purpose and direction, which would result in lack of commitment.
In line with expectations, internalized self-criticism was found to be the positive predictor the information orientation style. An explanation for this finding is that an adolescent having a negative view of the self in comparison with internal, personal standards would be extremely critical about his view of the self, which would result in the information orientation style. It was hypothesized that comparative self-criticism would be the positive predictor of the normative orientation style. However comparative self-criticism was not found to be the positive predictor of the normative orientation style but it was found to be the positive predictor of the diffuse-avoidant style. An explanation for this finding is that an adolescent having a negative view of the self in comparison with others would feel discomfort with being evaluated or exposed to others which would result in the diffuse-avoidant style.
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