Perfectionism as a vulnerability following appearance-focussed social comparison: A multi-wave study with female adolescents

This study tests whether perfectionism is a vulnerability factor for distress among female adolescents in the context of appearance-focused social comparison and use of social media. We hypothesized that perfectionism predicts greater depressive symptoms and lower body appreciation following appearance-focused upward social comparisons. One-hundred and thirty-five female adolescents (Mage = 14.70 years, SD = 0.46) completed measures of rigid and self-critical perfectionism once, and depressive symptoms, body appreciation, and appearance-focused upward social comparison once a week for four weeks. Self-critical perfectionism positively predicted depressive symptoms and negatively predicted body appreciation. Self-critical perfectionism also interacted with appearance-focused upward social comparisons to predict greater depressive symptoms and lower body appreciation. No effects emerged for rigid perfectionism. Findings suggest self-critical perfectionism may be an important vulnerability factor for female adolescents following appearance-focused social comparison when using social media.