Confirmatory factor analysis of the frost et al multidimensional perfectionism scale-24 (F-MPS 24)

Introduction The F-Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale is a widely used instrument to assess perfectionism trait. The original scale comprises 35-items that measure the six dimensions of Frost et al (1990) conceptualization of perfectionism: personal standards (PS), concern over mistakes (CM), doubts about actions (DA), parental criticism (PC), Parental expectations (PE) and Organization (O). Objective To examine the factor structure of the 24-items short form of the F-MPS using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), in a sample of Portuguese university students. Methods The sample comprises 344 university students (68.4% females), with an average age of 20.69 years (SD =  1.59; range =  17–24). They completed a version of F-MPS with 24 items that results from the selection of the four items with highest loadings in the respective six dimensions of the original Portuguese version (Amaral et al., 2013). Results After correlated errors, we obtained a good fit for the FMPS with six factors (X2/df =  2.125; CFI =  .936; GFI =  .891, RMSEA =  .057; P[ rmsea ≤ .05] =  .043). The 24-item F-MPS short form revealed good internal consistency (α = .825). The six dimensions showed acceptable or good internal consistency, as revealed by Cronbach's alpha (α: PS =  .80; CM =  .76; DA =  .82; PC =  .84; PE = .89, O =  .85). Conclusions The F-MPS 24 items short form CFA confirmed the six factor model as a reliable and valid measure to assess multidimensional perfectionism in Portuguese university students.