Executive Functioning Deficits in the Transdiagnostic Process of Multidimensional Perfectionism
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Date
2019-07-02
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Authors
Corson, Ansley T.
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Publisher
East Carolina University
Abstract
Background: Recent research has demonstrated that a variety of types of psychopathology, including depression, anxiety, eating pathology, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, are characterized by cognitive deficits in executive functioning, as measured by standardized neuropsychological assessment measures in a clinical setting. Multidimensional perfectionism serves as a transdiagnostic process across all of these different types of psychopathology. Purpose: The current research seeks to understand the possible relations between multidimensional perfectionism, objective and subjective measures of executive functioning, and psychopathology symptoms. Methods: 2,157 healthy undergraduate students were asked to complete a series of online self-report inventories related to perfectionism and symptoms of psychopathology. One hundred and one eligible students were then asked to complete an approximately two to two-and-a-half-hour neuropsychological assessment battery, which included both objective and subjective measures of executive functioning. Results: Results indicated that scores on objective neuropsychological assessment measures of attention, fluency, planning and decision making, working memory, and processing speed were unrelated to perfectionism classification. This was true regardless of whether or not the covariates of age, history of head injury, past or present mental health concerns, current psychotropic drug use, currently experienced cognitive symptoms, and scores on measures of depression, anxiety, eating pathology, and obsessive-compulsive disorder were controlled for. Additional results indicated that there were no significant differences between adaptive and maladaptive perfectionists on the Behavioral Regulation Index, Metacognition Index, or Global Executive Composite of the BRIEF-A (a self-report measure of executive functioning) once the covariates were controlled for. Further results demonstrated that there were significant differences between multidimensional perfectionism groups for symptom levels of eating pathology, depression, and anxiety. These significant effects of perfectionism classification on self-reported symptoms of depression, anxiety, and eating pathology disappeared entirely though when scores on the mini-IPIP, a measure of Big Five personality traits, were controlled for. Discussion: The current research found that there were no significant differences on objective neuropsychological assessment measures of executive functioning between multidimensional perfectionists. Furthermore, there were no significant differences on self-report measures of executive functioning between multidimensional perfectionists once covariates were controlled for. However, there were some interesting differences between multidimensional perfectionists in terms of the Big Five personality traits of Conscientiousness and Neuroticism.