PERFECTIONISM AS A PREDICTOR OF PRIMAL WORLD BELIEFS

The study aimed to examine the relationship between primal world beliefs and perfectionism, as both constructs reflect foundational attitudes and expectations that individuals hold about the world and themselves.Previous research has highlighted perfectionism as a mediator between beliefs and anxiety, as well as a correlate of deprivation of social and emotional needs and interpersonal sensitivity, particularly when reality does not align with personal expectations.Our research distinguishes perfectionism into two dimensionshigh standards and discrepancyand focuses on three overarching primal beliefs (safe, enticing, alive) and one primary primal (good), with age and gender included as control variables.Method: The sample consisted of 882 participants (52.5% women; Mage = 33.42;SD = 14.94).Measures included the PI-18 Primal Inventory (Clifton et al., 2019) and the Short Almost Perfect Scale (Rice et al., 2014).Separate regression analyses were conducted for each primal belief.Results: The primary primal, "Good," was positively associated with age, high standards, and negatively with discrepancy.The primal "Alive" was positively associated with female gender and high standards."Enticing" was positively related to high standards and age, and negatively to discrepancy.Finally, "Safe" was negatively associated with discrepancy.Discussion: The findings suggest a connection between personality and primal beliefs, offering potential implications for psychotherapy.The dimensions of adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism, characterized by secure versus fragile self-evaluations, are reflected in individuals' fundamental beliefs about the world.