P-128 - Perfectionism in social anxiety disorder: gender differences

Abstract

Background: Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a common anxiety disorder with a lifetime prevalence around 7-10%. Perfectionism is a personality construct defined as the setting of high standards paired with overly critical self-evaluation in pursuit of those standards. Although perfectionism has generally been associated with several forms of psychopathology, research in social anxiety has received less attention. Objective: To explore the relationship between perfectionism and SAD. Method: A cross-sectional survey of 571 university students was designed. We analysed the association between perfectionism components (concern over mistakes, personal standards, parental expectations, parental criticism, doubt about actions and organisation) and SAD with the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS) and the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS). SAD diagnostic was confirmed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-Axis-I. Results: Twelve percent of the sample had SAD, with no gender differences. For both sex, the prevalence of high-perfectionism (FMPS total) was higher in SAD than in control group (p< 0.001). Specifically, high-concern over mistakes and high-doubt about actions was associated to SAD in both gender whereas high-parental criticism was associated to SAD only in women. After controlling for age and personal psychiatric history, only high-concern over mistakes was associated with an increased risk of SAD (OR=3.41;95%CI=1.56-7.46) in women. Conclusions: This study supports the association between SAD and perfectionism specifically with the high-concern over mistakes component in women.

Social Phobia and Educational and Interpersonal Impairments in Adolescence: A Prospective Study

“…Our findings contrast with those findings and suggest that, at least in the relatively short term (i.e., during the ninth grade), SP symptoms may even protect girls from academic impairment. One possible interpretation is that socially anxious midadolescent girls may, more so than boys, display a perfectionist/performance-oriented manner [52] in school, possibly protecting themselves from negative classroom attention. It may also be the case that socially anxious girls have less supportive friendships and are less likely to be romantically involved [5,22] (also see discussion below), and as a result may focus their attention on academic pursuits rather than personal relationships.…”

“…It is possible that SP symptoms in the early phase may be associated with impairment in a different way for boys and girls compared with later SP symptoms. For example, as age increases, the demands for independent social functioning in educational settings may also increase for both genders-thus leading to educational harm for girls later on [14,52,58]. Clearly, further study is warranted.…”