Self-Compassion, Maladaptive Perfectionism, and Scrupulosity Among Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the USA

Scrupulosity, a pattern of religious and moral obsessions, impacts the religious experience and well-being of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). Maladaptive perfectionism, a pattern of pathologically high personal standards and perceived personal failure, is associated with increased scrupulosity among LDS individuals. Self-compassion has been identified as a potential protective factor in the relation between maladaptive perfectionism and a range of psychopathology-relevant outcomes, including among religious populations. However, little is directly known about the role of self-compassion in the relation between maladaptive perfectionism and scrupulosity. The present study examines relationships among scrupulosity, perfectionism, and self-compassion among members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). We examined indirect associations between maladaptive perfectionism and scrupulosity through self-compassion in a discovery sample (N = 378) and a replication sample (N = 542) of LDS university students in the USA. Consistent with hypotheses, self-compassion negatively correlated with both scrupulosity and maladaptive perfectionism in both samples. Findings showed a direct association between maladaptive perfectionism and scrupulosity and an indirect association via self-compassion in both samples. As hypothesized, self-compassion may temper the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and scrupulosity. These findings suggest that it may be beneficial to test self-compassion interventions in the treatment of scrupulosity in LDS individuals, including further research of tailored treatments for this population.