The effects of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia on multidimensional perfectionism
Perfectionism is related to insomnia and objective markers of disturbed sleep. This study examined whether multidimensional perfectionism is related to dysfunctional beliefs about sleep, sleep-effort, pre-sleep arousal, and polysomnography-determined markers of sleep amongst individuals with insomnia. The effects of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) on perfectionism was also examined. This was a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial on CBT-I. Forty-three insomnia patients were randomized to treatment (receiving CBT-I) or waitlist control groups. Sleep was recorded using polysomnography at baseline. Participants completed measures of perfectionism, dysfunctional beliefs about sleep, sleep-effort and pre-sleep arousal at baseline and post-treatment. Total perfectionism scores and doubts about action, concern over mistakes and personal standards were each significantly related to increased sleep effort, pre-sleep arousal and dysfunctional beliefs about sleep at baseline. Patients receiving treatment displayed increased total perfectionism scores post-treatment d=.49. In those receiving treatment, levels of organization d=.49 and parental expectations d=.47 were significantly increased post-treatment, relative to baseline. In line with the literature, our results confirm that perfectionism is related to insomnia. Here, insomnia was related to increased sleep effort, pre-sleep arousal and dysfunctional beliefs about sleep. The propensity to maintain a high standard of order and organization may be elevated following CBT-I, considering the treatment protocol expects patients to strictly adhere to a set of clearly defined rules. Levels of parental expectations may be increased following CBT-I since the patient-therapist-relationship may trigger implicitly expectations in the patients which are reminiscent of their relationship to their parents.
History
School affiliated with
- School of Psychology (Research Outputs)
- College of Health and Science (Research Outputs)
Publication Title
Behavior TherapyVolume
54Issue
2Pages/Article Number
386-399Publisher
ElsevierExternal DOI
ISSN
0005-7894Date Submitted
2022-01-29Date Accepted
2022-10-08Date of First Publication
2022-11-02Date of Final Publication
2023-03-01Open Access Status
- Open Access