The Impact of Parents on Perfectionism among Chinese Primary School Students

The world is observing a rise of perfectionism, a personality trait associated with many maladaptive psychological outcomes. However, how perfectionism is displayed among Chinese primary school students may be different from the claims made in Western literature. Thus, by adopting Bronfenbrenners ecological systems theory, the present study aims to elucidate the perfectionism profile in Chinese primary school students by drawing on the cultural background and the role of parents. Through desk-based research, it is found that adaptive perfectionism is most prevalent among Chinese primary school students, students internalise parents expectations, leading to the development of perfectionism, and parenting plays an influential role in shaping students perfectionism. The examination of the cultural root, namely Confucianism, enables intervention to be developed accordingly, which should promote the ideas of continuous self-improvement and learning from mistakes. Future studies are advised to employ both cross-sectional and longitudinal research and use various methodologies to address relevant issues pertaining to perfectionism in China.