Dr Michael Grugan

Assistant Professor

Department: Psychology

Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

My research focuses on understanding how perfectionism—an aspect of our personality characterised by extreme and irrational requirements for perfection—affects individuals across various contexts, including education and sport.

I also study how the pressure to be perfect can emerge from those around us, such as coaches, teachers, and managers. My work in this area has focused on measuring this type of pressure and examining the consequences faced by individuals in highly perfectionistic environments.

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Development and Validation of the Perfectionism Literacy Questionnaire, Etherson, M., Hill, A., Grugan, M., Madigan, D., Smith, M. 9 Jan 2025, In: Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment
Perfectionism, School Burnout, and School Engagement in Gifted Students: The Role of Stress, Grugan, M., Olsson, L., Hill, A., Madigan, D. 18 Apr 2025, In: Gifted Child Quarterly
Trait Perfectionism, Perfectionistic Self-Presentation, and Muscle Dysmorphia in Male Exercisers: A Structural Equation Modeling Strategy, Grugan, M., Wright, K. 1 Mar 2025, In: Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology
Factorial validity and measurement invariance of the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (ABQ), Grugan, M., Olsson, L., Vaughan, R., Madigan, D., Hill, A. 1 Jul 2024, In: Psychology of Sport and Exercise
Studying Perfectionistic Climates, Grugan, M., Fenwick, L., Olsson, L. 23 Jun 2023, The Psychology of Perfectionism in Sport, Dance, and Exercise, London, Taylor & Francis
Do Athlete and Coach Performance Perfectionism Predict Athlete Burnout?, Olsson, L., Madigan, D., Hill, A., Grugan, M. 3 Jul 2022, In: European Journal of Sport Science
Perfectionism and Burnout in Athletes: The Mediating Role of Perceived Stress, Olsson, L., Grugan, M., Martin, J., Madigan, D. 1 Mar 2022, In: Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology
Development and initial validation of the Perfectionistic Climate Questionnaire-Sport (PCQ-S), Grugan, M., Hill, A., Mallinson-Howard, S., Donachie, T., Olsson, L., Madigan, D., Vaughan, R. 1 Sep 2021, In: Psychology of Sport and Exercise
Perfectionism in Academically Gifted Students: A Systematic Review, Grugan, M., Hill, A., Madigan, D., Donachie, T., Olsson, L., Etherson, M. 1 Dec 2021, In: Educational Psychology Review
Introducing Perfectionistic Climate, Hill, A., Grugan, M. 1 Jan 2020, In: Perspectives on Early Childhood Psychology and Education