title: Perfectionism and anxiety: a paradox in intellectual giftedness?
abstract: Numerous authors reported a prevalence of perfectionism in gifted populations. In addition, an unhealthy form of perfectionism that leads to anxiety disorder has been described. Using self-report measures (CAPS and R-CMAS) with 132 children, we hypothesized that intellectually gifted children express a higher level of perfectionism and anxiety. Our results pointed out a paradox: the gifted group obtained a higher self-oriented perfectionism score than the control group in 6th grade, but present the same level of anxiety. In contrast, the gifted group showed the same level of perfectionism than non-gifted 5(th) graders, but reported a higher anxiety level. Thus, the interplay between perfectionism and anxiety appears to be more complex than a simple linear relationship in giftedness.
authors.affiliation: Centre National d'Aide pour enfant et adolescent à Haut Potentiel, Centre Hospitalier Guillaume Régnier, Rennes, France. jhguignard@free.fr
authors.forename: Jacques-Henri
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Guignard
authors.forename: Anne-Yvonne
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Jacquet
authors.forename: Todd I
authors.initials: TI
authors.lastname: Lubart
mesh_terms: D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002672:Child, Gifted / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D012044:Regression Analysis; D057566:Self Report; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric