Professor & Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Personality and Health
Research Interests
Gordon L. Flett, Ph.D., is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychology at York University in Toronto, Canada, where he held a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Personality & Health for over two decades. He is also the former Associate Dean of Research and former Director of the LaMarsh Centre for Child and Youth Research in the Faculty of Health at York University. Currently, Dr. Flett is an Associate Editor of Canadian Psychology, a journal published by the American Psychological Association.
Dr. Flett is recognized globally for his seminal contributions to research and theory on the role of perfectionism in mental and physical health, and more recently, his contributions to the study and understanding of individual differences in mattering to others. Dr. Flett has published over 400 journal articles and chapters, as well as 14 books, including the 2018 book The Psychology of Mattering. His most recent book was published in 2025 by the American Psychological Association and is titled Mattering as a Core Need in Children and Adolescents: Theoretical, Clinical, and Research Perspectives.
Dr. Flett is a member of the Canadian Psychological Association and in 2024/2025 he was named the Honorary President of the Canadian Psychological Association. He is also a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, which has cited him earlier in his career as one of the top 25 most productive authors in psychology. Dr. Flett is also the co-creator of numerous self-report measures assessing perfectionism (e.g., the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, the Child-Adolescent Perfectionism Scale), and mattering (e.g., Anti-Mattering Scale, the Fear of Not Mattering Inventory).
Dr. Flett is extensively engaged in knowledge translation and exchange. His work has received widespread attention and has been the subject of numerous media stories, including coverage on CTV, CNN, and the BBC and in Maclean’s, the Globe and Mail, Scientific American, the Atlantic, the New York Times, the New Yorker and the Washington Post. His engagement includes several podcast appearances and appearances on CBC Radio and National Public Radio.
Finally, reflecting his commitment to community issues. Dr. Flett has received the Community and Leadership Award, Toastmasters International, District 60. He has also received the City of Mississauga Certificate of Recognition for “Outstanding Commitment to the Community” and the Peel District School Board Award of Excellence for Community Service.
Contact
Department: Psychology
Email address: gflett@yorku.ca
York U Profile link: https://health.yorku.ca/health-profiles/?mid=3719
Google Scholar Link: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=hPLoL-8AAAAJ
Twitter Link: https://twitter.com/FlettGordon
Published Manuscripts (Select Publications)
Flett, G.L. (2025). Mattering as a core need in children and adolescents: Theoretical, clinical, and research perspectives. American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000449-000
Flett, G.L., Casale, S., Stoakes, A., Nepon, T., & Su, C. (2025). Mattering, substance use, and addictive behaviors: Review, analysis, and implications for treatment and prevention. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 24(2), 276–309. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332640.2023.2218283
Li, H.M., Flett, G.L., Cao, C.H., et al. (2025) Longitudinal associations between mattering dimensions and loneliness in adolescents: Bidirectional effects at between- and within-person levels. Journal of Youth and Adolescence . https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-025-02286-6
Flett, G.L. (2024). Mattering and feelings of not mattering in suicide risk and prevention: Conceptualization, review, and public health recommendations. In M. Zangeneh (Ed.), Essentials in health and mental health: Unlocking the keys to wellness (pp. 57–76). Springer Nature Switzerland AG. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-56192-4_4
Flett, G.L., & Hewitt, P.L. (2024). The need to focus on perfectionism in suicide assessment, treatment and prevention. World Psychiatry, 23(1), 152 154. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.21157
Flett, G.L., Nepon, T., Hewitt, P.L., Su, C., Yacyshyn, C., Moore, K., & Lahijanian, A. (2024). The Social Comparison Rumination Scale: Development, Psychometric Properties, and Associations With Perfectionism, Narcissism, Burnout, and Distress. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 42(6), 685-704. https://doi.org/10.1177/07342829241238300
Flett, G.L. (2022). An introduction, review, and conceptual analysis of mattering as an essential construct and an essential way of life. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 40(1), 3–36. https://doi.org/10.1177/07342829211057640
Flett, G.L., & Hewitt, P.L. (2022). Perfectionism in childhood and adolescence: A developmental approach. American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000289-000
Flett, G.L., Hewitt, P.L., Nepon, T., Sherry, S.B., & Smith, M. (2022). The destructiveness and public health significance of socially prescribed perfectionism: A review, analysis, and conceptual extension. Clinical Psychology Review, 93, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2022.102130
Flett, G.L., Nepon, T., Goldberg, J.O., Rose, A.L., Atkey, S.K., & Zaki-Azat, J. (2022). The Anti-Mattering Scale: Development, psychometric properties and associations with well-being and distress measures in adolescents and emerging adults. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 40(1), 37–59. https://doi.org/10.1177/07342829211050544
Chen, C., Hewitt, P. L., Flynn, C. A., Ko, A., & Flett, G. L. (2020). Trait perfectionism and performance satisfaction in challenging laboratory problem-solving tasks. Personality and Individual Differences, 164, 110110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110110
Flett, G. L., & Heisel, M. J. (2020). Aging and Feeling Valued Versus Expendable During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond: a Review and Commentary of Why Mattering Is Fundamental to the Health and Well-Being of Older Adults. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00339-4
Molnar, D. S., Flett, G. L., & Hewitt, P. L. Perfectionism and Perceived Control in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 1. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00315-y
Smith, M. M., Sherry, S. B., Hewitt, P. L., Flett, G. L., Hall, P. A., & Lee-Baggley, D. L. (2020). The existential model of perfectionism and depressive symptoms: Testing a moderated mediation model in community adults using a one-month two-wave longitudinal design. Personality and Individual Differences, 157, 109826. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.109826
Casale, S., & Flett, G. L. (2020). Interpersonally-based fears during the COVID-19 pandemic: Reflections on the fear of missing out and the fear of not mattering constructs. Clinical Neuropsychiatry, 17(2), 88-93. https://doi.org/10.36131/CN20200211
Smith, M. M., Sherry, S. B., Vidovic, V., Hewitt, P. L., & Flett, G. L. (2020). Why does perfectionism confer risk for depressive symptoms? A meta-analytic test of the mediating role of stress and social disconnection. Journal of Research in Personality, 103954. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2020.103954
Dang, S. S., Quesnel, D. A., Hewitt, P. L., Flett, G. L., & Deng, X. (2020). Perfectionistic traits and self‐presentation are associated with negative attitudes and concerns about seeking professional psychological help. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2450
Flett, G. L., Nepon, T., Hewitt, P. L., & Rose, A. L. (2020). Why perfectionism is antithetical to mindfulness: a conceptual and empirical analysis and consideration of treatment implications. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00252-w
Fioravanti, G., Flett, G., Hewitt, P., Rugai, L., & Casale, S. (2020). How maladaptive cognitions contribute to the development of problematic social media use. Addictive Behaviors Reports, 11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abrep.2020.100267
Flett, G. L., & Hewitt, P. L. (2020). Reflections on three decades of research on multidimensional perfectionism: An introduction to the special issue on further advances in the assessment of perfectionism. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 38(1), 3-14. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734282919881928