Early life trauma and self-critical perfectionism: The mediating role of daily stress reactivity in predicting depression and physiological (cortisol) stress reactivity.

Abstract

Building upon existing theories of stress sensitization among those with early life trauma (ELT; e.g., Hammen et al., 2000), theories of perfectionism including the social reaction model of perfectionism (Flett et al., 2002), and the perfectionism diathesis-stress model (e.g., Mandel et al., 2018), the present study examined the mediating role of daily stress reactivity in associations between predictors of ELT and self-critical perfectionism (SCP) on outcomes of depression and physiological (cortisol) stress reactivity during an acute laboratory stressor. In total, 108 college students completed the study. First, they completed surveys measuring ELT and SCP. During the following week, participants completed a daily diary study assessing daily stress and emotional reactivity to each stressor which were used to calculate a daily stress reactivity variable. At the end of the week, they completed a measure of depression and participated in a standardized acute laboratory stressor, the Trier Social Stress Test, in which salivary cortisol was measured. Structural equation modeling results generally provided support for our hypothesized model. SCP and ELT were associated with higher levels of depression, each with an indirect path through daily stress reactivity. Higher ELT was associated with higher levels of SCP, and both ELT and SCP were associated with higher daily stress reactivity. Depression was associated with lower levels of physiological stress reactivity during the Trier Social Stress Test. Implications for clinical practice and future research with individuals high in ELT and SCP are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).