Personality and Individual Differences 82 (2015) 221–226

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Personality and Individual Differences

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/paid

Role of motivation in the relation between perfectionism and academic

burnout in Korean students
Eunbi Chang, Ahram Lee, Eunji Byeon, Sang Min Lee ⇑
Korea University, Republic of Korea

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The purpose of this research is to investigate the relations among perfectionistic traits, motivation types,
Received 8 December 2014 and academic burnout in Korean adolescents. A total of 283 students responded to the survey. The results
Received in revised form 13 March 2015 indicated that there are significant mediation effects of motivation variables on the relation between per-
Accepted 14 March 2015
fectionistic traits and academic burnout symptoms. Specifically, intrinsic motivation partially mediated
the relation between self-oriented perfectionism and burnout. That is, self-oriented perfectionism was
positively related to greater levels of intrinsic motivation, and in turn, greater intrinsic motivation was
Keywords:
negatively related to academic burnout. Meanwhile, extrinsic motivation fully mediated the relation
Academic burnout
Perfectionism
between socially prescribed perfectionism and burnout. In other words, socially prescribed perfectionism
Motivation was positively related to greater levels of extrinsic motivation, and in turn, greater extrinsic motivation
Korean adolescents was positively related to academic burnout. Practical implications for educators are discussed.
Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Schaufeli, 2002; Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli,

Middle and high school students in South Korea carry a heavy
burden of exceeding pressure due to the cultural expectations of
high academic achievement (Lee et al., 2010). In Korea, it is com-
monly perceived that the successful future and higher social status
in life is determined primarily by entering a prestigious university
(Yang, Kim, Patel, & Lee, 2005). This fosters excessive competition
among students and their parents, which results in students’
experiencing severe academic stress (Lee et al., 2010). It is no sur-
prise that academic stress is one of the strongest stressors for
Korean students (Hwang, 2006; Lee & Kim, 1996), and conse-
quently, these students may experience symptoms of academic
burnout.
Burnout syndrome was initially used to indicate chronic work
stress among certain service providers (Maslach & Schaufeli,
1993). Three syndromes of burnout were identified by Maslach
and Jackson (1981): emotional exhaustion referring to loss of
energy and physical or emotional depletion; depersonalization or
cynicism indicating lack of empathy; and reduced personal accom-
plishment meaning a sense of incompetence. This concept of burn-
out has expanded over time, and currently is used not only in other
job settings, but also among students (Bakker, Demerouti, &
⇑ Corresponding author at: Department of Education, College of Education, Korea
University, Anam-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
E-mail address: leesang@korea.ac.kr (S.M. Lee).
2001; Leiter & Schaufeli, 1996). Academic burnout consists of emo-
tional exhaustion, cynicism, and academic inefficacy that are
experienced by students in academic settings due to chronic stress
(Schaufeli, Martez, Marques-Pinto, Salanova, & Bakker, 2002).
Emotional exhaustion refers to the depletion of energy due to aca-
demic demands; cynicism indicates apathetic and disinterested
attitude toward given tasks; and inefficacy implies being incapable
of producing desirable academic achievements (Shin, Puig, Lee, Lee,
& Lee, 2011).
A number of studies have identified the psychological variables
that lead to academic burnout with perfectionism being one of
them. Perfectionism is a personality trait that has been recognized
as a multidimensional construct (Miquelon, Vallerand, Cardinal, &
Grouzet, 2005). Hewitt and Flett (1991) distinguished the dimen-
sions of perfectionism into three: self-oriented perfectionism,
other-oriented perfectionism, and socially prescribed perfec-
tionism. Simply put, self-oriented perfectionism can be described
as setting high expectations and goals for oneself, whereas other-
oriented perfectionism involves expecting others to be perfect
and constantly evaluating them (Hewitt & Flett, 1991). The third
dimension, socially prescribed perfectionism, is related to striving
to meet the expectations that are prescribed by significant others
as well as trying to avoid their disapproval (Hewitt & Flett,
1991). Among these three dimensions, only self-oriented perfec-
tionism and socially prescribed perfectionism are considered in
this research because these two indicate perfectionistic

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.03.027
0191-8869/Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
222 E. Chang et al. / Personality and Individual Differences 82 (2015) 221–226
expectations on an individual rather than on others (Chang & Rand,
2000; Miquelon et al., 2005).
There are numerous studies that conceptually distinguish adap-
tive perfectionism and maladaptive perfectionism: adaptive per-
fectionism has association with striving for achievement and
positive affect, whereas maladaptive perfectionism is related to
concerns regarding evaluation and negative affect (Chang,
Watkins, & Banks, 2004; Enns, Cox, & Clara, 2002; Enns, Cox,
Sareen, & Freeman, 2001; Frost, Heimberg, Holt, Mattia, &
Neubauer, 1993). According to Klibert, Langhinrichsen-Rohling,
and Saito (2005), self-oriented perfectionism is viewed as more
adaptive because it is positively associated with adaptive con-
structs such as self-control and achievement motivation, while
socially prescribed perfectionism is more maladaptive with rela-
tion to constructs such as depression, anxiety, shame, and guilt.
Other studies also indicate that socially prescribed perfectionism
results in negative psychological adjustments because the expecta-
tions imposed by significant others are perceived as excessive or
uncontrollable (Chang & Rand, 2000; Hewitt & Flett, 1991;
Miquelon et al., 2005). On the other hand, self-oriented perfection-
ism does not always lead to negative consequences. Although self-
oriented perfectionism can be associated with self-criticism and
self-blame (Hewitt & Flett, 1991), there is evidence that it results
in positive psychological adjustments (Flett, Hewitt, Blankstein, &
Dynin, 1994; Frost et al., 1993; Hill, McIntire, & Bacharach, 1997;
Mills & Blankstein, 2000). Thus, self-oriented perfectionism is con-
sidered a more adaptive perfectionism while socially prescribed
perfectionism is considered maladaptive (Klibert et al., 2005;
Miquelon et al., 2005).
Applying this dichotomy in academic settings, self-oriented
perfectionism is closely related to academic engagement, whereas
socially prescribed perfectionism to academic burnout (Jo & Lee,
2010). While maladaptive perfectionism may cause students to
set unrealistic goals and force themselves to perform in an exceed-
ingly competitive manner, thus eventually leading to academic
burnout (Shim, 1995), adaptive perfectionism can facilitate
motivation and increase the level of performance (Jo & Lee,
2010). However, not much research has been conducted on how
and by which path perfectionistic traits influence academic burn-
out; moreover, it would be important to consider other psychologi-
cal variables that function as mediators.
In this article, motivation is considered as another key factor in
understanding the relation between perfectionistic traits and aca-
demic burnout. According to the self-determination theory,
motivation can largely be divided into intrinsic motivation, extrin-
sic motivation, and amotivation (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Intrinsic
motivation refers to the inherent tendency to venture into the
world for one’s own enjoyment, whereas amotivation indicates
one’s unwillingness to act. Extrinsic motivation is the act of attain-
ing separable outcomes based on social pressure and norms; it
consists of different degrees of self-determination and autonomy,
ranging from external regulation to introjected regulation, identi-
fied regulation, and integrated regulation (Ryan & Deci, 2000).
However, in this study, only the extreme ends of intrinsic and
extrinsic motivation types were considered because the four types
of motivation, namely intrinsic, identified, introjected, and exter-
nal, are highly correlated (e.g., Stoeber, Feast, & Hayward, 2009).
Theoretically, and by definition, self-oriented perfectionism is
associated with intrinsic motivation and socially prescribed perfec-
tionism with extrinsic motivation (Hewitt & Flett, 1991; Miquelon
et al., 2005; Stoeber et al., 2009). However, there is not much
research on the relation between the types of perfectionism and
intrinsic or extrinsic motivation. Miquelon et al. (2005) found that
self-oriented perfectionism was related to intrinsic and internal-
ized reasons for studying, and this result was supported by
Stoeber et al. (2009). Socially prescribed perfectionism, on the
other hand, was found to be positively related with extrinsic
motivation to study (Miquelon et al., 2005; Stoeber et al., 2009).
The aim of the current study is to examine the relations
between the two different dimensions of perfectionistic traits, that
is, self-oriented perfectionism and socially prescribed perfec-
tionism, and academic burnout which embrace exhaustion, cyni-
cism, and inefficacy. Next, the mediating role of two motivation
types, namely intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, on the relations
between the two different dimensions of perfectionistic traits
and academic burnout were examined. As aforementioned, the
relation between perfectionism and academic burnout has been
shown in different studies (e.g., Jo & Lee, 2010). Also, there are
studies showing relations between motivation and burnout (e.g.,
Cresswell & Eklund, 2005). However, few studies have been con-
ducted to explain how perfectionistic traits influence academic
burnout. It is hypothesized that intrinsic motivation would med-
iate the negative relation between self-oriented perfectionism
and academic burnout, whereas extrinsic motivation would med-
iate the positive relation between socially prescribed perfectionism
and academic burnout.
2. Method
2.1. Participants
This study focuses on examining the mediation effects of
motivation types on the relation between perfectionism and aca-
demic burnout. Participants were freshmen in high school (10th
graders) and their mean age was 16. A total of 283 students
responded to the survey, with 49% male (n = 139) and 51% female
(n = 144). Participants reported the types of schools they attended:
252 (89.0%) stated attending public high school, 18 (6.4%) voca-
tional high school, 2 (0.1%) art, music, and athletic high school, 3
(0.1%) special-purpose high school, and 8 (0.3%) students answered
etc. (e.g., science-focused school, autonomous private high school).
The participants who completed the questionnaire were given a
small gift (e.g., chocolate).
2.2. Measures
2.2.1. Academic burnout
The Korean version of the MBI-SS (Shin et al., 2011) was used in
order to assess the participants’ academic burnout levels. The MBI-
SS consists of 3 dimensions of academic burnout: emotional
exhaustion (EE), cynicism (CY) and academic inefficacy (AI).
There are 15 self-report questions that are divided into three
sub-factors: emotional exhaustion (e.g. ‘‘I feel emotionally drained
by my studies’’, ‘‘Studying or attending a class is really a strain for
me’’), cynicism (e.g. ‘‘I have become less enthusiastic about my stud-
ies’’, ‘‘I have become more cynical about the potential usefulness of my
studies’’), and efficacy (e.g. ‘‘During class I feel confident that I am
effective in getting things done’’, ‘‘I can effectively solve the problems
that arise in my studies’’). Academic efficacy was measured and
reversed-coded to be used in the final analysis as academic ineffi-
cacy. Responses to each item are given on a 5-point Likert scale
ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).
According to Shin et al. (2011), Cronbach’s alphas for the MBI-SS
are .86 for emotional exhaustion, .82 for cynicism and .82 for aca-
demic inefficacy. In this study, Cronbach’s alphas were .88, .83, .81
and .88 for exhaustion, cynicism, academic inefficacy, and total
items respectively.
2.2.2. Perfectionism
Hewitt and Flett (1991) developed the Multidimensional
Perfectionism Scale (MPS) in order to measure perfectionism. In
 E. Chang et al. / Personality and Individual Differences 82 (2015) 221–226 223

this study, the Korean version of MPS was used, which is a 30-item 3. Results
questionnaire translated by Han (1993). Examples of the items for
self-oriented perfectionism are ‘‘One of my goals is to be perfect in The means, standard deviations, and correlations among the
everything I do’’ and ‘‘I must work to my full potential at all times’’. research variables were shown in Table 1. As expected, intrinsic
Items for socially prescribed perfectionism include ‘‘My family motivation has positively significant relation with self-oriented
expects me to be perfect’’ and ‘‘The people around me expect me to perfectionism (r = 32, p < .01) but not with socially prescribed per-
succeed at everything I do’’. All items are measured using a 7-point fectionism. On the other hand, extrinsic motivation has positive
Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). relation with socially prescribed perfectionism (r = .26, p < .01),
In this study, Cronbach’s alphas were .87 for self-oriented perfec- but no relation with self-oriented perfectionism was found.
tionism and .73 for socially prescribed perfectionism. Regarding academic burnout, it showed positive correlation with
extrinsic motivation (r = .36, p < .01) and socially prescribed per-
fectionism (r = .16, p < .01), but negative correlation with intrinsic
2.2.3. Academic motivation
motivation (r = .37, p < .01) and self-oriented perfectionism
Ryan (2002) developed the Academic Self-Regulation
(r = .31, p < .01). These results mean that when the scores of
Questionnaire (SRQ-A), based on the research done by Ryan and
extrinsic motivation and socially prescribed perfectionism
Connell (1989), in order to measure the different motivation styles
increased, the level of academic burnout also ascended.
in academic situations. It consists of 4 subscales, namely external,
Meanwhile, the higher level of internal motivation and self-ori-
introjected, identified, and intrinsic motivation. In Korea, Kim (as
ented perfectionism was related to lower level of academic
cited in Kim, 2002) combined and modified the SRQ-A (Ryan,
burnout.
2002) and Stepping Motivation Scale (SMS) (Hayamizu, 1997) in
Figure 1 shows the mediation model with intrinsic motivation
order to develop the K-SRQ-A to measure academic motivation.
mediating the relation between self-oriented perfectionism and
K-SRQ-A is comprised of 24 items in total, and it focuses on a gen-
academic burnout. There was a significant total effect of self-ori-
eral academic situation in Korea that is reflected on the question
ented perfectionism and academic burnout (t = 5.53, p < .001; c
‘‘Why do you study?’’ Example items for external motivation are
path). Based on unstandardized regression coefficients, there was
‘‘I study because my parents force me to study’’ and ‘‘I study because
a significant effect of self-oriented perfectionism on intrinsic
the teachers give punishment if I don’t study.’’ Items for intrinsic
motivation (t = 5.68, p < .001; a path) and intrinsic motivation on
motivation include ‘‘I study to gain answers about things I don’t
academic burnout (t = 5.25, p < .001; b path). The indirect effect
know’’ and ‘‘I study because it is interesting for me to study.’’ All items
was significant because the bootstrapped 95% confidence interval
are measured using a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (Strongly
did not contain zero ( .12, .04). However, the effect of self-ori-
disagree) to 6 (Strongly agree). K-SRQ-A also consists of 4 sub-
ented perfectionism on burnout was still significant when the
scales, external, introjected, identified, and intrinsic motivation,
effect of intrinsic motivation was controlled (t = 3.80, p < .001;
and only external and intrinsic subscales were used in this study
c’ path), suggesting partial mediation.
to measure extrinsic and intrinsic motivation of participants.
The result of mediation model with extrinsic motivation
Cronbach’s alphas were .89 for external and .92 for intrinsic
mediating the relation between socially prescribed perfectionism
motivation.

2.3. Data analysis Table 1

The means, standard deviations and correlation among academic burnout, motivation
and perfectionism.
IBM SPSS Statistics Developer Version 21.0 was used in order to
analyse the given data collected from a total of 283 students. First, M SD 1 2 3 4 5

descriptive statistics, such as the mean and the standard deviation, 1. Burnout 2.82 .56 –
were examined in order to understand the tendency of the vari- 2. Intrinsic motivation 2.94 1.03 .37** –
3. Extrinsic motivation 2.23 .93 .36** .15* –
ables. Pearson product moment correlation analysis was also exe- 4. Self-oriented 4.34 .79 .31** .32** .00 –
cuted in order to understand the relations among the variables of perfectionism
perfectionism, motivation, and academic burnout. 5. Socially prescribed 4.05 .55 .16 **
.10 .26 **
.41** –
By using the SPSS macro process (Preacher, Rucker, & Hayes, perfectionism
2007) which facilitates estimation of the indirect effect, mediation *
p < .05.
analyses were conducted. It involves not only normal theoretical **
p < .01.
approach such as Baron and Kenny’s approach (Baron & Kenny,
1986) but also bootstrapping approach to obtain bias-corrected
confidence intervals. To gain multiple estimates of the indirect
effect, bootstrapping includes drawing repeated data samples with
Intrinsic
replacement (Preacher & Hayes, 2008). According to Preacher and motivation
Hayes (2008), using bootstrapping to test mediation effect enables
researchers to obtain bias-corrected confidence intervals. a=.42*** b=-.16***
Significant results based on bootstrapping are found with 95% con-
fidence interval that does not contain zero. Moreover, since fewer
inferential tests are required, type II error is reduced (Preacher &
Hayes, 2008). c’=-.16***
The mediation model with extrinsic motivation mediating the Self-oriented Academic
perfectionism c=-.22*** burnout
relation between socially prescribed perfectionism and academic
burnout was tested. Also, the second model was analyzed to show
intrinsic motivation mediating the relation between self-oriented
Note. Regression coefficients are unstandardized, ***p<.01
perfectionism and academic burnout. The types of perfectionism
functioned as the predictor, and each motivation type was the Fig. 1. Mediation model with intrinsic motivation mediating the relation between
mediator. self-oriented perfectionism and academic burnout.
224 E. Chang et al. / Personality and Individual Differences 82 (2015) 221–226
and academic burnout was shown in Fig. 2. Total effect of socially
prescribed perfectionism on academic burnout was significant
(t = 2.72, p < .01; c path). Also the effects of socially prescribed per-
fectionism on extrinsic motivation (t = 4.43, p < .001; a path) and
extrinsic motivation on burnout (t = 5.85, p < .001; b path) were
significant. Furthermore, the indirect effect of socially prescribed
perfectionism on academic burnout through extrinsic motivation
had a 95% confidence interval between .05 and .15, indicating a sig-
nificant mediation effect. The main effect of socially prescribed
perfectionism on academic burnout became non-significant after
controlling the effect of extrinsic motivation (t = 1.28, p = .20; c’
path). It means that the extrinsic motivation fully mediated the
relation between socially prescribed perfectionism and academic
burnout.
4. Discussion
This study attempted to identify the relation among two types
of perfectionism, two motivation types, and academic burnout of
Korean students. Main findings of this study are as follows.
Regarding the relation between perfectionism and motivation,
the results were consistent with expectation. Specifically, self-ori-
ented perfectionism was positively correlated with intrinsic
motivation, and socially prescribed perfectionism was positively
correlated with extrinsic motivation. These results were consistent
with previous findings (Miquelon et al., 2005; Stoeber et al., 2009).
There is some controversy about the relation between perfection-
ism and motivation because there is no clear-cut pattern. For
example, there are studies that show positive relation between
self-oriented perfectionism and extrinsic motivation rather than
with intrinsic motivation (e.g., Mills & Blankstein, 2000).
Although the results are not consistent, current findings showed
that self-oriented perfectionism and socially prescribed perfection-
ism are linked to intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation,
respectively.
Next, intrinsic motivation partially mediated the relation
between self-oriented perfectionism and burnout, and extrinsic
motivation fully mediated the relation between socially prescribed
perfectionism and burnout. That is, self-oriented perfectionism
affected intrinsic motivation positively, and it had negative effect
on burnout sequentially. On the other hand, socially prescribed
perfectionism was positively related with extrinsic motivation, in
turn, it affected burnout positively. These results indicated that
students who show self-oriented perfectionistic traits studying
with intrinsic reasons (i.e., curiosity, interest, and personal
satisfaction) did not experience burnout, whereas those with
socially prescribed perfectionistic traits experienced burnout
Extrinsic
Motivation
a=.43***
c’=.08
Socially
prescribed
c=.16**
perfectionism
Note. Regression coefficients are unstandardized, **p<.01, ***p<.001
Fig. 2. Mediation model with extrinsic motivation mediating the relation between socially prescribed perfectionism and academic burnout.
because they studied with external reasons (i.e., blame of parents,
praise of teachers).
According to Ryan and Connell (1989), extrinsic motivation is
doing something to receive significant others’ acceptance and
praises. On the other hand, intrinsic motivation is doing something
to satisfy inherent interest and needs (Ryan & Connell, 1989).
Personal standards had strong positive correlation with self-ori-
ented perfectionism (Flett, Sawatzsky, & Hewitt, 1995), but accord-
ing to Zhang, Gan, and Chan (2007), a high personal standard itself
does not directly lead to burnout. Viewed in this light, even though
students with self-oriented perfectionism have high standards,
they may not experience burnout if the standards are for one’s
own satisfaction and joy. Meanwhile, in a study by Flett et al.
(1995), socially prescribed perfectionism was strongly related with
parental expectations and parental criticism in the perfectionism
dimensions provided by Frost, Marten, Lahart, and Rosenblate
(1990). Thus, conceptually, students with high extrinsic motivation
are likely to study to satisfy parents’ expectation and to avoid par-
ental criticism. Our finding is interpreted in the same way as Zhang
and colleagues’ (2007) study which reported that parents’ expecta-
tion was positively related to burnout of Chinese college students.
Hewitt and Flett (1991) showed that self-oriented perfection-
ism and socially prescribed perfectionism are different dimensions
of perfectionism which relate to different constructs. Many
researchers confirmed that socially prescribed perfectionism was
related to negative constructs (e.g., Chang & Rand, 2000; Chang &
Sanna, 2001; Childs & Stoeber, 2012), but self-oriented perfection-
ism was related to both positive and negative constructs such as
psychological adjustment (Miquelon et al., 2005), high self-esteem
(Trumpeter, Watson, & O’Leary, 2006), using adaptive learning
strategies (Mills & Blankstein, 2000), and depressive symptoms
(e.g., Chang & Sanna, 2001). However, in this study, self-oriented
perfectionism was a negative predictor of academic burnout.
Bong, Hwang, Noh, and Kim (2014) reported that self-oriented per-
fectionism positively affect academic self-efficacy and academic
achievement, but negatively affect acceptability of cheating and
academic procrastination for Korean middle school students.
Considering the results of Bong et al. (2014) and current research,
self-oriented perfectionism seems to be adaptive rather than mal-
adaptive in academic settings, at least for Korean students.
Although our findings corroborate results of previous research
showing the relation between perfectionism and motivation (e.g.,
Mills & Blankstein, 2000; Miquelon et al., 2005; Stoeber et al.,
2009), the classification of motivation types in this study was
slightly different from previous research. For example, Miquelon
et al. (2005) classified the motivation into self-determined motiva-
tion, composed of intrinsic and identified motivation, and non-self-
determined motivation, consisting of introjected and external
motivation. Also, Stoeber et al. (2009) combined external and
b=.20***
Academic
burnout
 E. Chang et al. / Personality and Individual Differences 82 (2015) 221–226
introjected motivation as extrinsic motivation, and identified and
intrinsic motivation as intrinsic motivation. However, according
to Ryan and Deci (2000), concept of motivation should be under-
stood in continuum based on self-determination. Thus, we adopted
only the external motivation and intrinsic motivation to compare
the extremes on the continuum of motivation. This allowed the
results to show clearer relation between extrinsic or intrinsic
motivation and socially prescribed or self-oriented perfectionism.
The results of this study have several practical implications for
teachers, counselors and parents in an academic setting. Students
who show perfectionistic traits may have different academic burn-
out levels depending on the perfectionism type. Therefore, inter-
ventions should be developed by focusing more on students with
socially prescribed perfectionism rather than those with self-ori-
ented perfectionism. When counselors meet students with perfec-
tionistic traits, they should not only focus on their traits, but also
their academic motivation types. Academic burnout can be pre-
vented by monitoring and reframing students’ academic motiva-
tion style, for example, thinking about the intrinsic reasons to
study may be good for general well-being of students (Burton,
Lydon, D’Alessandro, & Koestner, 2006). Also, teachers and parents
should help students be motivated intrinsically. Previous research-
ers (e.g., Assor, Kaplan, & Roth, 2002; Deci, Eghrari, Patrick, &
Leone, 1994; Jang, Reeve, & Deci, 2010; Reeve & Jang, 2006)
reported various ways to facilitate students’ intrinsic motivation.
For example, acknowledging students’ feelings, conveying choices,
and providing rationales for tasks can be helpful ways to facilitate
students’ intrinsic motivation (Deci et al., 1994). Also, most stu-
dents may have low intrinsic motivation because they think that
schoolwork is not related to their personal goals or authentic inter-
ests (Assor et al., 2002). Therefore, helping students find the mean-
ing of schoolwork and connect it to their personal goals can be
another ways to promote intrinsic motivation (Assor et al., 2002).
On the other hand, parents should be careful when using external
compensation because they may hinder development of the intrin-
sic motivation (e.g., Deci, Spiegel, Ryan, Koestner, & Kauffman,
1982; Lepper, Greene, & Nisbett, 1973). Also, it would be beneficial
to provide parent education programs in order to improve parent-
ing skills.
There are some limitations in this study. First, it is important to
note that statistical mediation was examined in this study, and as
such, no causal inferences may be drawn from this study. Next,
because self-reported measures were used, the responses could
have been affected by students’ subjective experiences or recon-
struction of memories. Thus, in future research, other methods,
such as observation, should also be considered. Third, we only used
the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS; Hewitt & Flett,
1991) to measure perfectionism. However, there are other mea-
sures of perfectionism such as the Frost Multidimensional
Perfectionism Scale (FMPS; Frost et al., 1990), the Adaptive/
Maladaptive Perfectionism Scale (AMPS; Rice & Preusser, 2002)
and the Almost Perfect Scale-Revised (APS-R; Slaney, Rice,
Mobley, Trippi, & Ashby, 2001). In future research, perfectionism
should be investigated using various types of perfectionism scales.
In addition, this study has limitations due to using only the intrin-
sic and external subscales of K-SRQ-A (Kim, 2002). This study
intended to show clearer relationships between perfectionism
traits and motivation types by eliminating subscales with high cor-
relations. However, there are four subscales in K-SRQ-A and it
would be meaningful to include all the types of motivation (i.e.,
amotivation, external, introjected, identified, and intrinsic motiva-
tion) in future studies. Finally, this study was specified toward
Korean students. In East Asian cultures, individuals have
interdependent self-construal (Markus & Kitayama, 1991).
Compared to those in western cultures, adolescents of East Asian
countries put more emphasis on the judgement of significant
225
others such as parents and teachers when evaluating their school
life (Bong et al., 2014). Therefore, in order to generalize the results
of this study in other academic settings, such research should be
replicated on samples from various countries.
Despite of limitations, current findings confirmed that perfec-
tionism can be either adaptive or maladaptive for academic burn-
out, and motivation styles play mediation roles between
perfectionistic traits and academic burnout. These results will be
helpful when designing interventions and preventative programs
for middle and high school students experiencing academic burn-
out syndrome.
Acknowledgment
This work was supported by the National Research Foundation
of Korea Grant funded by the Korean Government (NRF-
2014SA5B8060944).
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