The Relationship Between Socially Prescribed Perfectionism and Perfectionistic Self-Presentation in College Students: The Moderated Mediating Effects of Internalized Shame and Self-Compassion

Objectives To verify the mediating effect of internalized shame and the moderated mediating effect of self-compassion in the relationship between socially imposed perfectionism and perfectionistic self-presentation in college students. Methods The analysis of this study was conducted using SPSS 22.0 and Process Macro to conduct descriptive statistical analysis, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, and moderated mediation effect verification. Results First, the results of analyzing the correlations among the variables of socially imposed perfectionism, perfectionistic self-presentation, internalized shame, and self-compassion showed significant correlations among all variables. Second, internalized shame showed a partial mediating effect in the relationship between socially imposed perfectionism and perfectionistic self-presentation. Third, the moderated mediating effect of self-compassion was verified in the relationship between socially imposed perfectionism, internalized shame, and perfectionistic self-presentation. Conclusions This study shows that college students' socially imposed perfectionism has a negative effect on internalized shame, and self-compassion interacts with this to moderate the effect of perfectionistic self-presentation, which means that the lower the level of self-compassion, the more the perfectionistic self-presentation is strengthened, leading to maladaptive living.