Social phobia and perfectionism

Clinical evidence suggests that components of perfectionism may have special relevance to social phobia. This study examines this relationship by comparing 61 patients with social phobia and 39 community volunteers with no anxiety disorder on Frost, Marten, Lahart and Rosenblateʹs (1990) Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS). Social phobia patients scored higher on subscales assessing concern over mistakes, doubts about actions, and perceived parental criticism. Community volunteers scored higher on the organization subscale. It was further hypothesized that, for the social phobia patients, perfectionism would be associated with greater symptom severity. Correlational analysis confirmed that the Concern over Mistakes and Doubts about Actions subscales of the MPS were consistently associated with greater social anxiety, trait anxiety, and general psychopathology. Implications for the treatment of social phobia patients are considered.