Although traditional researchers exploring perfectionism frequently cast the construct in a negative light, a steady stream of recent studies have demonstrated that perfectionistic beliefs can yield both positive and negative outcomes. Despite this progression in the research, perfectionism remains an understudied phenomenon among youth, especially as it relates to the ways in which these individuals are perceived by others. The current study builds on the previous literature by exploring adolescent perfectionism across a variety of psychological and psychoeducational dimensions. Moreover, a unique addition to the literature offered by this study was the inclusion of peer-reports along with self-reported measures in hopes of gaining a fuller understanding of the psychosocial characteristics of perfectionistic youth. The incorporation of peer reports also allowed a novel approach to the study of perfectionism by exploring this construct through the lens of their adolescent colleagues. Self and peer reported data was drawn from a sample of 816 ninth grade students representing three separate high schools. MANOVA results revealed a number of differences between perfectionistic subtypes across both self and peer-reported data. More specifically, adaptive perfectionists rated themselves as having less anxiety and depression as compared to their maladaptive and non-perfectionistic counterparts. Adaptive perfectionists were also reported to have stronger interpersonal relationships and greater social connectivity than their peers. Moreover, both adaptive and maladaptive perfectionists reported significantly higher GPAs than non-perfectionists. Peer informant data indicated that adaptive perfectionists were rated as having the highest academic expectations followed by maladaptive perfectionists and then non-perfectionists. Contrary to expectations, no significant differences were found between cluster groupings on peer reported social withdrawnness. Findings suggest that adaptive perfectionism is associated with a range of positive psychological, psychoeducational and psychosocial outcomes. Conversely, maladaptive perfectionism appears to be related to several behaviors which may impede healthy adolescent functioning. Implications regarding the improved assessment of perfectionism and intervention strategies aimed at both students and professionals working within the school domain are discussed.

Fotografiet har sedan dess födelse alltid fascinerat oss. Som ett sätt att dokumentera, förmedla nyheter, marknadsföra eller dela med sig av något så enkelt som familjesemestern. Fotografiet har onekligen spelat en stor roll i utvecklingen av självrepresentation i många aspekter i människors liv. På tal om utveckling har även fotografiet utvecklats från ett analogt format till att i dagens digitaliserade värld för det mesta vara digitalt. Utveckling föder utveckling och i dagens läge är en kamera aldrig längre bort än var och ens egen ficka. I dagens samhälle finns möjligheten att socialt interagera genom att dela ett fotografi via olika sociala medier. I denna uppsats har jag valt att avgränsa mig till fotoapplikationen Instagram. Där syftet är att utforska hur människor använder mediet för självframställande och hur sociala förbindelser uppstår inom plattformen. Genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med användare har jag kommit fram till att motivet bakom delandet handlar om motivation gentemot andra och jakt på bekräftelse från sin publik. Jag har även kommit fram till att den sociala interaktionen sker genom en kombination mellan bild och kommentar. / The photograph has since its birth always fascinated us. As a way to document, communicate news, market or share something as simple as a family holiday. The photograph has undoubtedly played a major role in the development of self-representation in many aspects of human life. Speaking of development the photograph has also evolved in today’s digitized world, from an analog format to mostly be digital. Development breed development, and today a camera is never further away than anyone’s pocket. In the society today the possibility of social integration by sharing a photograph through various social media is easy. In this essay, I have chosen to limit myself to the photo application Instagram, where the aim is to explore how people use the media for self-production and how social connectivity occurs within the platform. Through semi-structured interviews with users, I have concluded that the motive behind the sharing pictures is all about motivation towards others and looking for confirmation from the users audience. I have also concluded that social interaction takes place in the combination between picture and comments.