Payton MacLean | 2025 I.S. Symposium

Name: Payton MacLean
Title: From High Standards to High Risk: Linking Parent Socialization to Problematic Drinking Through Perfectionism
Major:Psychology
Minor: Political Science
Advisor: Michael Casey

The current study sought to examine the indirect effects of perceived parental perfectionistic expectations on alcohol-related problems in emerging adulthood. Specifically, it explores how these expectations interact with perceived parental response styles (conditional negative regard, conditional positive regard, unconditional positive regard, and contingent punishment) in relation to two dimensions of perfectionism (perfectionistic standards and discrepancy). In turn we examined how these dimensions of perfectionism are associated with alcohol-related problems in emerging adulthood through negative affect and drinking to cope. Using a sample of 331 emerging adults, results indicate that when coupled with high parental expectations, the perception of parental conditional negative regard and contingent punishment in adolescence were associated with maladaptive perfectionism (high standards and discrepancy) in emerging adulthood. Perfectionistic discrepancy was then found to be predictive of alcohol-related problems through heightened levels of negative affect and coping-motivated drinking. Additionally, findings suggest that perfectionistic standards serve as a protective factor against problematic drinking. This study contributes to the understanding of how parent socialization influences perfectionistic tendencies and alcohol-related problems in emerging adulthood. *This work was especially inspired by my time with the Florida International University Center for Children’s and Families (CCF), where I worked with children with various emotional and behavioral disorders, and was heavily involved on the parental side.

Posted in Symposium 2025 on May 1, 2025.