Editor’s note: This is part one of a four-part series on recent research related to toxic perfectionism.
Do members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints experience perfectionism at higher rates than others? That’s one question Justin Dyer, a professor of religious education at BYU, realized has not previously been studied.
Dyer and colleagues set out to see if there were any answers to this question using a study on the mental health of Latter-day Saint youth. The six-year study involved over 2,000 teens and young adults (about half Latter-day Saint, half not).
Professors and mental health professionals wrote about their findings and the impacts of toxic perfectionism in the December issue of BYU Studies Quarterly.
Dyer said he was surprised when the research revealed that Latter-day Saints are less likely — not more — to experience unhealthy levels of perfectionism compared with other groups.