Exploring the link between perfectionism and depressive symptoms: Contribution of rumination and defense styles.

Objective: This study investigated the mediating and moderating roles of emotion-focused coping strategies (rumination and immature defenses) in the relationship between perfectionism and depressive symptoms in a Spanish community sample.

Method: 438 participants (67.4% female; mean age = 36.94 years) completed self-reports assessing perfectionism, rumination, immature defenses and depression. Multiple mediation, moderation and moderated mediation analyses were conducted.

Results: Brooding-rumination and immature defenses mediated the relationship between perfectionism and depressive symptoms. Also, brooding-rumination moderated the impact of perfectionism on depressive symptoms. The mediating effect of brooding in the relationship between perfectionism and depressive symptoms turned out to be moderated by immature defenses, such that the vulnerability link between perfectionism and depressive symptoms through brooding was stronger in individuals scoring high on immature defenses.

Conclusion: Brooding-rumination and immature defenses may be essential mechanisms to explain the paths and conditions whereby maladaptive perfectionism gives rise to depression.