Exploring the Relationship Between Adaptive‐Maladaptive Perfectionism and Music Performance Anxiety Among Preservice Music Teachers: The Mediating Role of Performing Self‐Efficacy

ABSTRACT As a commonly experienced emotion, music performance anxiety (MPA) greatly hinders performance. Studies have found that personality traits such as perfectionism served as significant predictors of this maladaptive emotion. However, the extant literature rarely explored the differential prediction of adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism or the mechanism between these two types of perfectionism and MPA. In addition, most attention on MPA was paid on professional musicians while research on Preservice music teachers is scare. To fill the above research gaps, we recruited 512 Preservice music teachers in China and measured their levels of (adaptive and maladaptive) perfectionism, performing self‐efficacy, and MPA. Correlation analysis indicated that adaptive perfectionism and self‐efficacy were negatively related to MPA, but maladaptive perfectionism was positively associated with MPA. Structural equation modeling suggested that both adaptive perfectionism and maladaptive perfectionism predicted MPA through self‐efficacy. Findings are interpreted from theoretical and practical perspectives.