Perfectionism in Relation to Stress and Cardiovascular Disease among Gifted Individuals and the Need for Affective Interventions.

Maladaptive perfectionism has the potential to put gifted individuals at an increased risk for cardiac events via the reduced heart rate variability that results from chronic negative affect and physiological stress reactions. As a result, implementing affective interventions into gifted programs may play a critical role in teaching gifted children with maladaptive perfectionism stress-management techniques and coping strategies, which could help keep gifted children with maladaptive perfectionism from growing into adults with similar issues who are then at an increased risk of negative health consequences. Through a review of the theoretical and empirical literature, the current article explores the possible ramifications of maladaptive perfectionism on the health of both gifted children and adults, with a specific focus on the relationship of maladaptive perfectionism to stress and cardiovascular disease. Suggestions for the implementation of preventative measures in the form of targeted affective inter...