Dimensions of perfectionism and perfectionistic self-presentation in social phobia

In a cross sectional study we examined the dimensions of perfectionism and perfectionistic self-presentation in patients with social phobia. We also examined associations between perfectionism and self-report of anxiety and depression with fear of negative evaluation. Thirty patients with a diagnosis of social phobia and 30 community volunteers completed two measures of trait perfectionism, fear of negative evaluation and measures of anxiety and depression. The clinical sample had overall higher levels of perfectionism and had greater fear of negative evaluation, social anxiety, trait anxiety and depression than the community sample. The clinical sample had significantly higher concern over mistakes, doubts over actions, parental criticism (F-MPS, Frost et al., 1990) and scored higher for non-display of imperfection on the Perfectionistic Self Presentation Scale (PSPS; Hewitt et al., 2003). The two groups did not differ on other dimensions of perfectionism, or on both measures of perfectionism. The two measures of perfectionism were positively correlated. There was a significant correlation between trait perfectionism and Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation scale (BFNE). The paper discusses the importance of examining perfectionism in social phobia.