222 Meeting the unique needs of high-achieving students is particularly challenging for professional counselors. Currently, there is a paucity of research that prioritizes the needs and social–emotional development of highachieving students in accelerated curricula. This study examined the effectiveness of a modified version of the cognitive behavioral therapy for perfectionism (CBT-P) small group intervention on the perfectionism, negative affectivity, and social–emotional well-being of high-achieving students. A series of ANCOVA analyses revealed a statistically significant difference in negative affectivity and self-oriented perfectionism between treatment (n = 20) and comparison (n = 21) groups. No statistically significant difference was found regarding participants’ socially prescribed perfectionism or social–emotional well-being. The modified CBT-P yielded large effects (ηp2 = .22) in reducing negative affectivity and medium effects (ηp2 = .11) in reducing self-oriented perfectionism. These findings further support this population’s need for specialized school-based interventions and illuminate future research directions. Keywords: high-achieving students, perfectionism, negative affectivity, social–emotional well-being, CBT-P For decades, positive stereotyping surrounding the high-achieving student population has continued to promote the misconception that high-achieving students do not face problems or social–emotional challenges (Colangelo & Wood, 2015; Peterson, 2009). Yet, a growing body of literature has led researchers to conclude that high-achieving students are not immune to mental health concerns (Kennedy & Farley, 2018; Suldo et al., 2018). In fact, high-achieving students are more likely to struggle with perfectionism, internalize expectations and problems, and maintain a façade to avoid expressing their needs (Peterson, 2009). Left undetected, mental health problems may impact academic and social–emotional success (Luthar et al., 2020). With mental health problems increasing among adolescents, there is a growing interest in expanding strategies and early intervention programs to improve mental health outcomes (Divin et al., 2018). The school system plays an essential role in addressing adolescents’ social–emotional and academic needs, with many schools adopting multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) to implement and evaluate schoolwide interventions (O’Brennan et al., 2019). Prevention and intervention programs being utilized within MTSS need to be tailored to meet the student populations’ needs (Dai et al., 2015). Tailoring programs is essential when considering interventions to support high-achieving students, as they typically perform well enough academically in accelerated courses to maintain enrollment, but their emotional health problems may go undetected by counselors and educators (Suldo et al., 2018). Additionally, many of the programs available to support high-achieving students’ needs are the same as those offered to general education students (O'Brennan et al., 2019), and there is little empirical evidence linking these programs or practices to positive outcomes for this population (Colangelo & Wood, 2015). The Professional Counselor™ Volume 13, Issue 3, Pages 222–237 http://tpcjournal.nbcc.org © 2023 NBCC, Inc. and Affiliates doi: 10.15241/ab.13.3.222 Arielle Bendit, Melissa Mariani, Paul Peluso, Elisa Calabrese Supporting Early College High School Students: The Effects of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Perfectionism on Perfectionism, Negative Affectivity, and Social–Emotional Well-Being Arielle Bendit, PhD, LMFT, is a postdoctoral fellow at Florida Atlantic University. Melissa Mariani, PhD, is an associate professor at Florida Atlantic University. Paul Peluso, PhD, LMHC, LMFT, is Senior Associate Dean of the College of Education at Florida Atlantic University. Elisa Calabrese, EdD, is Director of Javits Gifted and Talented Education Grant for Florida Atlantic University Lab Schools. Correspondence may be addressed to Arielle Bendit, 777 Glades Road Bldg. SS-8, Rm 229, Boca Raton, Florida 33431, abendit@fau.edu.
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