Relationship of perfectionism with procrastination and coping styles in people with coronary heart disease and healthy controls

Aim.The present study aimed to examine the relationship of perfectionism with procrastination and coping styles in people with coronary heart diseases (CHD), compared with healthy controls.
Background. Psychological factors may increase the risk of CHD by influencing physiological risk factors. Although psychological factors play an important role in development of CHD, more research in this area is necessary.
Method. In this descriptive correlational study, 218 male people (107 people with CHD as case group, and 111 people without CHD as their controls) were selected by convenience sampling. Data were collected by Mann’s Decisional Procrastination Scale, Lay’s Behavioral Procrastination Scale, coping styles Scale by Endler and Parker and Tehran Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale. Pearson correlation coefficient and linear regression were used for data analysis.
Findings.According to the findings, other-oriented perfectionism was directly associated with behavioral and decisional procrastination in case group, while in the control group, other-oriented perfectionism was negatively associated with decisional procrastination, however, the association was not significant. The effect of other-oriented perfectionism on decisional procrastination was significant in both groups. In case group, other-oriented perfectionism had a significant effect on behavioral procrastination, however other-oriented perfectionism had a significant effect on problem solving style in control group.
Conclusion.Other-oriented perfectionism had positive, but not strong relationship with both aspects of procrastinations in case group. In regression models of different aspects of perfectionism on procrastination, only the effect of other-oriented perfectionism was significant. Although the regressions were significant, fitted models had low predictive power. Only the other-oriented perfectionism could somewhat predict behavioral and decisional procrastination.