Work

Sleepless in the Pursuit of perfection: A longitudinal investigation of bidirectional relationships between insomnia and perfectionism in Adolescent males and females

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: STUDY OBJECTIVES: Perfectionism is a possible risk factor for insomnia, yet longitudinal evidence of this relationship in adolescence is lacking. Cross-sectional evidence suggests the nature of the relationship may differ based on biological sex, and the form of perfectionism, since socially prescribed and self-oriented critical perfectionism are conceptualised as maladaptive for wellbeing, while self-oriented striving may be adaptive or neutral. This study aimed to investigate longitudinal bidirectional relationships between total perfectionism, and sub-forms of perfectionism (i.e., socially prescribed, self-oriented critical, self-oriented striving perfectionism), and symptoms of insomnia, over the course of mid-adolescence. Longitudinal models were examined for males and females separately. METHODS: = 14.25, SD = 0.56, range = 13-16, 52 % male) completed questionnaire measures of perfectionism (Child-Adolescent Perfectionism Scale) and insomnia (Insomnia Severity Index) on three annual occasions (at approximately 14, 15 & 16 years of age). Data were from the larger Risks to Adolescent Wellbeing (RAW) Project. RESULTS: Biological sex did not moderate the association between insomnia symptoms and any form of perfectionism. Cross-lagged panel models showed no longitudinal relationship between self-oriented striving, nor self-oriented critical perfectionism and insomnia symptoms for males or females. Higher total perfectionism predicted moderate increases in insomnia symptoms for males and females, but insomnia symptoms did not predict changes in total perfectionism. Socially prescribed perfectionism and insomnia symptoms predicted large and moderate increases in one another over time, respectively, forming a perpetuating cycle. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that perfectionism may be an important risk factor for insomnia symptoms in adolescents.

Source: Sleep Medicine

DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2024.09.036