“Making a Perfect Man”: Traditional Masculine Ideology and Perfectionism among Adolescent Boys

We examine adolescent males' subscription to traditional masculine norms, and its effect on acquisition of perfectionist tendencies. These constructs were measured by the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (1990) and the Traditional Masculine Ideology Scale (TMI). The masculinity and perfectionism constructs are also considered in the light of boys' relationships with their fathers. Questionnaires were administered to 141 Grades 10, 11, and 12 boys at a public single-sex high school. Analysis revealed positive and significant correlations between TMI and Total Perfectionism, as well as with TMI and the ‘Concern over Mistakes’, ‘Parental Expectations’ and ‘Personal Standards’ subscales. These findings are discussed in terms of the construction of male identity in modernity.