Student perfectionism linked to parents all-or-nothing expectations

A new study published Thursday links a rise in perfectionism among college students to all-or-nothing expectations for success that have become increasingly common among parents.

The study, published in the journal Psychological Bulletin, analyzed data from more than 20,000 American, Canadian and British college students and found that students’ perceptions of parents’ expectations and criticism have increased over the past 32 years.

“This work is the first to show that expectations are rising over recent generations of young people,” lead researcher Thomas Curran, an assistant professor of psychological and behavioral science at the London School of Economics and Political Science, told The Washington Times.

“We’ve long suspected it but there’s now good evidence and the increase is quite startling.”

The researchers linked the rise in parental expectations to an increase in perfectionism, which increases risk of depression, anxiety, self-harm and eating disorders.

They said that as perfectionists become more neurotic, they also become less conscientious and mindful of others as they age, which they pass these traits down to future generation – “perfectionist parents raising perfectionist children.”

“But to reiterate, this is not the parents’ fault,” said Curran. “They’re more or less forced to set higher expectations because society — schools, colleges, the workplace — places pressure on young people to achieve excessively high standards.”

The Times notes the research only shows a correlation between parental expectations and perfectionism among college student, not causation.

The study also cites social media, employer expectations and college culture as other factors that may increase student’s perceptions of othes expectations.

“Parents can help their children navigate societal pressures in a healthy way by teaching them that failure, or imperfection, is a normal and natural part of life,” Curran said. “Focusing on learning and development, not test scores or social media, helps children develop healthy self-esteem, which doesn’t depend on others’ validation or external metrics.”