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Objectives This study examined natural groupings of college students in terms of perfectionism, the differences in adaptation to college life among clusters, and factors influencing adaptation to college life according to each cluster. Methods Based on the data of 261 college students, cluster analysis using the sub-scales of perfectionism—self-oriented and socially-prescribed perfectionism—was conducted. Then, the differences in adaptation to college life were analyzed among sub-groups by using MANOVA. Multiple regression analysis was also conducted to examine the effects of failure tolerance and self-efficacy on adaptation to college life according to each cluster. Results The cluster analysis resulted in three clusters—Cluster 1: self- and other-fulfilling perfectionism group; Cluster 2: non-perfectionistic group; and Cluster 3: self-fulfilling perfectionism group. As results of MANOVA, Clusters 2 and 3 showed significantly higher scores on adaptation to college life than Cluster 1. The results of multiple regression analysis showed that failure tolerance had a significant effect on adaptation to college life in Clusters 1 and 2. In Cluster 3, adaptation to college life was significantly affected by both failure tolerance and self-efficacy. Conclusions The findings of this study suggest that it is necessary to provide college students with appropriate programs or counseling activities to enhance their adaptation to college life based on their types of perfectionism.
Park et al. (Fri,) studied this question.