TY  - EJOU
AU  - Tao, Ye 
AU  - Jalaluddin, Ilyana 
AU  - Kasim, Zalina Mohd 

TI  - Perfectionism and writing performance: Self-efficacy and motivation mediation
T2  - Journal of Psychology in Africa

PY  - 2025
VL  - 35
IS  - 5
SN  - 1815-5626

AB  - This study investigated the role of self-efficacy and motivation in the relationship between perfectionism and writing performance. Participants were 500 Chinese EFL (English as a Foreign Language) undergraduates (females = 34%, <i>M</i>age = 21.56 years, <i>SD</i> = 2.27). The students completed the Self-Reported Writing Proficiency Scale, the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale for Chinese, the Second Language Writer Self-Efficacy Scale, and the English Writing Motivation Questionnaire. Results from Structural Equation Modeling (SEM, Amos 29.0) revealed that perfectionism predicted writing performance positively for students with positive (adaptive) perfectionism, but negatively for those with negative (maladaptive) perfectionism. Self-efficacy and motivation mediated these relationships, strengthening the link between perfectionism and writing performance. Specifically, positive perfectionism significantly enhanced writing ability by increasing self-efficacy and motivation, whereas negative perfectionism significantly reduced self-efficacy and motivation, thereby inhibiting writing performance. These findings are consistent with the Dual-Process Model of Perfectionism, which posits that perfectionism can function through both positive and negative pathways. The model highlights that students with positive perfectionism exhibit higher levels of self-efficacy and motivation, whereas those with negative perfectionism demonstrate the opposite pattern.
KW  - perfectionism; self-efficacy; motivation; writing performance; Chinese EFL learners

DO  - 10.32604/jpa.2025.066530