Perfectionism and suicidal ideation: the serial mediating roles of appearance-based rejection sensitivity and loneliness

Guided by the perfectionism social disconnection model (PSDM), this study focused on understanding the perfectionism-suicidality link by including appearance-based rejection sensitivity and loneliness as mediators. In this study, the potential direct and indirect roles of self-oriented perfectionism and socially prescribed perfectionism on suicidal ideation were examined. A convenient sample of 1483 Chinese university students (42.9% male, M_age = 19.14; SD_age = 1.03) completed self-report measures of the constructs above. The hypothesized model was tested through path analyses using a bootstrapping approach for the direct, indirect, and total effects. The results indicated that (a) socially prescribed–but not self-oriented– perfectionism has a significant direct path to suicidal ideation; (b) loneliness significantly mediated the association between the two kinds of perfectionism and suicidal ideation; and (c) appearance-based rejection sensitivity and loneliness serially mediated the association between socially prescribed perfectionism/ self-oriented perfectionism and suicidal ideation. The limitations, such as cross-sectional design, use of self-report instruments, and nonclinical samples, call for further investigation. Our findings provide important empirical data guiding future prevention programs for suicide in young adults from a new perspective and suggest that individuals high in perfectionism, particularly socially prescribed perfectionism, can be identified and recruited for early intervention.