SECTION I
1. I set very high standards for myself as a parent.
2. Only if I am “perfect” as a parent will society consider me to be a good parent.
3. My partner sets very high standards of excellence for herself/himself as a parent.
4. My partner expects me to be a perfect parent.
5. I expect my partner to always be a top-notch and competent parent.
6. I must always be successful as a parent.
7. Most people in society expect me to always be a perfect parent.
8. My partner is perfectionistic in that she/he expects to be a perfect parent all the time.
9. My partner demands nothing less than perfection of me as a parent.
10. My partner should never let me down when it comes to being a parent.
11. One of my goals is to be a “perfect” parent.
12. Most people expect me to always be an excellent parent.
13. It makes my partner uneasy for him/her to be less than a perfect parent.
14. My partner always wants me to be a perfect parent.
15. I cannot stand for my partner to be less than a competent parent.
16. I always feel the need to be a “perfect” parent.
17. I have to be a perfect parent in order for most people to regard me as okay.
18. My partner sets very high‚ perfectionistic goals for herself (himself) as a parent.
19. My partner pressures me to be a perfect parent.
20. I expect nothing less than “parental perfectionism” from my partner.
21. I always pressure myself to be the best parent in the world.
22. In order for people to accept me‚ I have to be the greatest parent in the world.
23. My partner is always trying to be totally perfect as a parent.
24. My partner has very high perfectionistic goals for me as a parent.
25. I will appreciate my partner‚ but only if she/he is a perfect parent.
26. I have very high perfectionistic goals for myself as a parent.
27. Most people expect me to be perfectionistic when it comes to being a parent.
28. My partner always feels that she/he has to be the best possible parent.
29. In order for my partner to appreciate me‚ I have to be a perfect parent.
30. I expect my partner to try to be perfectionistic when it comes to parenting behavior.
SECTION II
1. My spouse/partner sets very high parenting standards for me.
2. Being organized as a parent is very important to me.
3. My spouse/partner has criticized me for being less than a perfect parent.
4. If I do not set the highest standards for myself‚ I am likely to end up a second rate parent.
5. My spouse/partner never tries to understand my mistakes/shortcomings as a parent.
6. It is important to me that I am thoroughly competent in everything I do as a parent.
7. I am rather neat (i.e.‚ not messy) as a parent.
8. I try to take an organized approach to being a parent.
9. If I fail to rear my children well‚ I would be a total failure as a person.
10. I should be upset if I make a mistake in rearing my children.
11. My spouse/partner wants me to be the best possible parent in the entire world.
12. I set higher goals for myself as a parent than do most people.
13. If someone were a better parent than I‚ then I would feel like a complete failure as a parent.
14. If I fail in even a small way to be a totally good parent‚ it is as bad as being completely inadequate.
15. Only when I am an “outstanding” parent is it good enough for my spouse/partner.
16. I am very good at focusing my efforts and time at being a good parent.
17. Even when I am very careful as a parent‚ I often feel that I failed to do something quite right.
18. I hate being less than the best possible parent.
19. I have extremely high goals for myself as a parent.
20. My spouse/partner expects “parenting excellence” from me.
21. My spouse/partner would probably think less of me if I made a mistake in parenting.
22. I never feel like I can meet my spouse/partner’s expectations for me as a parent.
23. If I am not as good a parent as other people‚ it means I am an inferior parent.
24. Other people seem to accept less from themselves as a parent than I do for myself.
25. If I do not constantly attend to our children‚ my spouse/partner will not respect me as a parent.
26. My spouse/partner has always had higher expectations for me as a parent than I have.
27. I try to be an organized and neat parent.
28. I usually have doubts about even the simple things I do and say as a parent.
29. As a parent‚ orderliness (and neatness) is very important to me.
30. I expect more of myself as a parent than most people.
31. I take an organized approach to being a parent.
32. I tend to have problems as a parent‚ because I keep doing things the same old way.
33. It takes me a long time to do something “right” as a parent.
34. The fewer mistakes I make as a parent‚ the more my spouse/partner will like me.
35. I never feel like I can meet my spouse/partner’s standards for good parenting behavior.
A = Not at all characteristic of me.
B = Slightly characteristic of me.
C = Somewhat characteristic of me.
D = Moderately characteristic of me.
E = Very characteristic of me.
SECTION I
Self-oriented parenting perfectionism: items 1‚ 6‚ 11‚ 16‚ 21‚ and 26
Societal prescribed parenting perfectionism: items 2‚ 7‚ 12‚ 17‚ 22‚ and 27
Partner’s self-oriented parenting perfectionism: items 3‚ 8‚ 13‚ 18‚ 23‚ and 28
Partner prescribed parenting perfectionism: items 4‚ 9‚ 14‚ 19‚ 24‚ and 29
partner expected standards for parenting: items 5‚ 10‚ 15‚ 20‚ 25‚ and 30
SECTION II
Concern over parenting mistakes: items 9‚ 10‚ 13‚ 14‚ 18‚ 21‚ 23‚ 25‚ 34
Doubts about parenting activity: items 17‚ 28‚ 32‚ 33
Personal parenting standards: items 4‚ 6‚ 12‚ 16‚ 19‚ 24‚ 30
Partner’s parenting expectations: items 1‚ 11‚ 15‚ 20‚ 26
Partner’s parenting criticism: items 3‚ 5‚ 22‚ 35
Parental organization: items 2‚ 7‚ 8‚ 27‚ 29‚ 31
Snell‚ W. E.‚ Jr.‚ & Overbey‚ G. (1997). Measuring multiple aspects of parenting perfectionism: The Multidimensional Parenting PerfectionismQuestionnaire (MPPQ). Manuscript in preparation.
Frost‚ R. O.‚ Marten‚ P. A.‚ Lahart‚ C.‚ & Rosenblate‚ R. (1990). The dimensions of perfectionism. Cognitive Therapy and Research‚ 14‚ 449-468.
Hewitt‚ P. L.‚ Flett‚ G. L.‚ Turnbull-Donovan‚ W.‚ & Mikail‚ S. F. (1991). The Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale: Reliability‚ validity‚ and psychometric properties in psychiatric samples. Psychological Assessment: A Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology‚ 3‚ 464-468.
Snell‚ W. E.‚ Jr.‚ Overbey‚ G.‚ & Brewer‚ A. L. (2005). Parenting perfectionism and the parenting role. Personality and Individual Differences‚ 39‚ 613-624.