Exploring the Contemporary Research Trends on Perfectionism and Mental Health: A Bibliometric Analysis

The current bibliometric analysis aimed to analyze scientific output on the relationship between perfectionism and mental health in peer-reviewed journals between 2010 and 2023. A literature search was conducted using the Web of Science (WoS) database, and 705 publications were extracted. The majority of the studies were research articles. The results indicated that depression, anxiety, stress, and eating disorders were some of the most common mental health conditions related to the trait of perfectionism. The annual number of publications covering the topic followed a steady increase over the 13-year period with slight fluctuations. The average number of citations per article was found to be 16.07. Psychology, followed by psychiatry and education, were the most prominent fields covering this topic. The USA, Canada, and Australia were the top three countries contributing to the investigations regarding the relationship between perfectionism and mental health. The most frequently used keywords were perfectionism, depression, anxiety, and stress. It was concluded that studies covering the association between perfectionism and mental health issues have demonstrated a gradual increase in terms of both the number and the diversity of research over the 13 years. Studies aiming to enrich the literature regarding this topic should be encouraged, especially in low and middle-income countries.