Overcoming perfectionism during childhood and adolescence: a systematic review and meta-analysis of interventions

The first aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of interventions implemented to reduce multidimensional perfectionism in children and adolescents compared to the control group. The second aim was to examine potential moderators (i.e. country, treatment recipients, sample type, sample age, treatment goal, type of therapy, N of sessions, treatment modality, follow-up, scale) to determine whether these variables influenced the outcomes. A systematic search process was conducted using the Web of Science, Scopus, PsycINFO, and Psicodoc databases. Twenty studies were selected, four of which had two intervention groups, and one of which reported data by gender. Consequently, the meta-analytic dataset consisted of a total of 25 independent intervention-control comparisons. The interventions were clinically effective in reducing Overall Perfectionism (g = .32 and .36), Perfectionistic Concerns (g = .25 and .43), and Perfectionistic Strivings (g = .35 and .33) for both baseline-posttest and baseline-follow-up assessments, respectively. The only two significant moderators were the type of scale used and the sample's country, both of which influenced Perfectionistic Concerns and Perfectionistic Strivings, but not Overall Perfectionism. These findings highlight the interventions' effectiveness in reducing Overall Perfectionism and its two higher-order dimensions in children and adolescents.