Predicting Fatigue in University Students via Subtypes of Perfectionism

Abstract

This study aims to predict the feelings of cognitive, social, and physical fatigue in university students via adaptive and maladaptive subtypes of perfectionism. This descriptive study follows a correlational design. It had a statistical population constituting of an all-male and all–female undergraduates (in the final year, studying in the 7^th and 8^th semesters) and graduate students in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Razi University of Kermanshah in the academic year 2016–2017. A sample of 269 students was selected by using the stratified random-sampling method. To collect data, the Fatigue Impact Scale (Fisk et al., 1994) and the Positive and Negative Perfectionism Scales (Terry-Short et al., 1995) were used. Data was analyzed by using several statistical methods, including a Pearson correlation coefficient, a stepwise regression analysis, an independent t-test, and a one-sample t-test. The results of this study indicate that feelings of cognitive, social, and physical fatigue are significantly and diversely related to adaptive perfectionism and maladaptive perfectionism (<em>p</em>< .01), respectively. Moreover, results revealed that the mean of perfectionism in female students was higher than that of male students. This difference was statistically significant. However, considering the feelings of cognitive, social, and physical fatigue, no significant differences were found between the male and female students.