Abstract

School resistance is a common problem characterized by negative attitudes and behaviors that students develop towards learning processes, the school context, and authority figures. The aim of this research is to examine the effect of different types of perfectionism on school resistance in middle school students and to test the mediating role of goal commitment in this relationship. Research data were collected from middle school students; the PROCESS macro (Model-4) was used in the analyses, and direct and indirect effects in regression models were evaluated using the bootstrap method. The findings showed that the total effect of self-specific perfectionism on school resistance was statistically significant and negative. This effect was found to occur both directly and indirectly through goal commitment. The finding that the indirect effect of goal commitment is significant suggests that unique perfectionism can strengthen goal commitment and thus reduce school resistance. The total effect of socially induced perfectionism on school resistance was also found to be significant and negative. However, the indirect effect of socially induced perfectionism on school resistance through goal commitment was found to be positive and significant. Overall, goal commitment functioned as a significant mediating variable in the relationship between both types of perfectionism and school resistance. These findings suggest that pursuing goals that students find intrinsically meaningful and valuable can support their ability to cope with academic challenges and maintain their motivation to stay in school.

Keywords: Perfectionism, Self-oriented perfectionism, Socially prescribed perfectionism, Goal commitment, School resistance

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Copyright © 2026 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

How to cite

Gençdoğan, B., Saruhan, Y., Akbaba, T., & Saruhan, U. (2026). The effect of perfectionism on school resistance: the mediating role of goal commitment. Education and Science, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.15390/ES.2025.2674