A Randomized Controlled Trial of an Exposure-Based Treatment for Perfectionism

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT05351710

Enrollment

Registered

2022-04-28

Start date

2022-08-30

Completion date

2023-04-13

Last updated

2024-08-07

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Perfectionism

Brief summary

This study is examining the efficacy of a computerized, exposure-based, intervention for perfectionism.

Detailed description

The aim of this study is to further test the efficacy of a short-term, computerized exposure-based treatment for perfectionism (ETP) by comparing it to a stress management condition. ETP consists of three tasks in which participants will repeatedly make mistakes during eight sessions over a two-week period (one session every 2 days).

Interventions

BEHAVIORALExposure-Based Treatment for Perfectionism

Three tasks focused on exposures are completed. Each treatment session is approximately twenty minutes.

BEHAVIORALStress Management

Videos focused on education about healthy habits and relaxation. Each session is approximately twenty minutes.

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 65 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

\- Score of at least 29 on the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale- Concern over Mistakes subscale

Exclusion criteria

* Currently participating in psychotherapy * Any changes to psychotropic medications in the past four weeks

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS)- Concern Over Mistakes Subscale	Baseline, post treatment (2 weeks), and follow-up (6 weeks)	Self-report questionnaire examining levels of perfectionism. The concern over mistakes sub-scale includes 9 items with scores ranging from 9 to 45 (higher scores signify higher levels of perfectionism).

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D)	Baseline, post treatment (2 weeks), and follow-up (6 weeks)	Self-report measure used to assess depressive symptoms. Total scores range from 0 to 60 with higher scores indicating a higher level of depressive symptoms.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7	Baseline, post treatment (2 weeks), and follow-up (6 weeks)	Self-report measure used to assess generalized anxiety symptoms. Scores range from 0 to 21 with higher scores indicating higher levels of generalized anxiety.
Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN)	Baseline, post treatment (2 weeks), and follow-up (6 weeks)	Self-report scale that measures social anxiety symptoms. Scores range from 0 to 68 with higher scores indicating higher levels of social anxiety symptoms.
ED-15	Baseline, post treatment (2 weeks), and follow-up (6 weeks)	Self-report scale that measures eating disorder symptoms. Scores range from 0 to 6, with higher mean scores indicating higher levels of eating disorder symptoms.
Irrational Procrastination Scale	Baseline, post treatment (2 weeks), and follow-up (6 weeks)	Self-report scale that measures levels of procrastination. Scores range from 9 to 45 with higher scores indicating higher levels of procrastination.

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Participants by arm

Arm	Count
Exposure-Based Treatment for Perfectionism This arm consists of a 2-week computerized, exposure-based intervention. Treatment sessions are completed every 2 days at home (8 treatment sessions total). Exposure-Based Treatment for Perfectionism: Three tasks focused on exposures are completed. Each treatment session is approximately twenty minutes.	43
Stress Management Condition This arm consists of a 2-week, computerized, stress-management condition in which participants watch videos of health habits (e.g., nutrition, exercise, sleep) and relaxation videos. These sessions are completed every 2 days at home (8 sessions total). Stress Management: Videos focused on education about healthy habits and relaxation. Each session is approximately twenty minutes.	42
Total	85

Baseline characteristics

Characteristic	Exposure-Based Treatment for Perfectionism	Stress Management Condition	Total
Age, Continuous	27.02 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 6.65	27.69 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 7.83	27.36 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 7.23
Race/Ethnicity, Customized Race/Ethnicity Asian or Pacific Islander	0 Participants	1 Participants	1 Participants
Race/Ethnicity, Customized Race/Ethnicity Black (Not Hispanic)	7 Participants	7 Participants	14 Participants
Race/Ethnicity, Customized Race/Ethnicity Hispanic	12 Participants	6 Participants	18 Participants
Race/Ethnicity, Customized Race/Ethnicity Other	2 Participants	1 Participants	3 Participants
Race/Ethnicity, Customized Race/Ethnicity White (Not Hispanic)	22 Participants	27 Participants	49 Participants
Region of Enrollment United States	43 participants	42 participants	85 participants
Sex/Gender, Customized Female	20 Participants	24 Participants	44 Participants
Sex/Gender, Customized Male	22 Participants	17 Participants	39 Participants
Sex/Gender, Customized Nonbinary	1 Participants	1 Participants	2 Participants

Adverse events

Event type	EG000 affected / at risk	EG001 affected / at risk
deaths Total, all-cause mortality	0 / 43	0 / 42
other Total, other adverse events	0 / 43	0 / 42
serious Total, serious adverse events	0 / 43	0 / 42

Outcome results

Primary

Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS)- Concern Over Mistakes Subscale

Self-report questionnaire examining levels of perfectionism. The concern over mistakes sub-scale includes 9 items with scores ranging from 9 to 45 (higher scores signify higher levels of perfectionism).

Time frame: Baseline, post treatment (2 weeks), and follow-up (6 weeks)