A Multi-Method Examination of the Perfectionism Social Disconnection Model Among Adolescents: Testing the Unique Role of Online (Dis)Connection

Abstract

The purpose of the current bi-phasic, multi-method study was to provide a comprehensive and rigorous test of the Perfectionism Social Disconnection Model (PSDM) among adolescents, with a focus on the role of online connection. According to the PSDM, perfectionism is thought to be linked with a lack of social connection which, in turn, predicts higher levels of psychopathology. In Phase One, adolescent self- identified perfectionists were compared to non-perfectionist adolescents with respect to themes relating to social media use and social connection, coded from semi-structured interviews. The findings provided valuable insight into adolescent perfectionists’ experiences of connection and disconnection, both online and in-person. Importantly, these findings offered support for the PSDM whereby most perfectionists felt disconnected in online spaces – mirroring the pattern of their in-person relationships. To extend the findings of Phase One, a longitudinal quantitative test of the PSDM, including indicators of both online and in-person social connection, was conducted among a community sample of Ontario adolescents in Phase Two. The findings from the second phase of the current work supported the predictions of the PSDM, by demonstrating that each form of perfectionism was indirectly linked to depression via in-person social connection. Altogether, the findings of the present work provided support for the theoretical tenets put forth by the PSDM among a sample of community adolescents. More specifically, the results of the current work highlight the central role of perfectionistic self-presentation in the experiences of social disconnection among adolescents. Implications for theory as well as intervention and prevention efforts were discussed.