Perfectionism and Social Anxiety Among College Students
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PERFECTIONISM AND SOCIAL ANXIETY AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS A dissertation presented by Daniel Per Villiers, M.Ed., M.A. Submitted to The Department of Counseling and Applied Educational Psychology in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the field of Counseling Psychology Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts February, 2009 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Table of Contents……………………………………………………………………….................ii Acknowledgments………………………………………………………………………………...v Dedication………………………………………………………………………………………...vi Abstract………………………………………………………………………...............................vii Copyright Page…………………………………………………………………………................ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................1 Background of the Problem……………………………………………………...............1 Social Anxiety………….…………………………………………………………1 Perfectionism……………………………………………………….……………..2 Perfectionism, Social Anxiety, & College Students...............................................6 Social Anxiety, Perfectionism, & Academic Major..……......................................8 Rationale & Significance…………………………………………………….....................9 Research Significance………………………………………………....................10 Clinical Significance…………………………………..........................................11 University Significance..........................................................................................12 Theoretical Foundation of the Study…………………………………………………….13 Statement of the Problem…………………………………………………..….................14 Discussion of terms……………………………………………………………................14 Social Anxiety …………………………………..................................................14 Perfectionism………………………………………………………….................16 Research Questions………………………………………………………………………17 Chapter Summary…………………………………………….………….........................17 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE…………………………………………18 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………18 Epidemiology of Social Anxiety........................................................................................18 Prevalence Rates...…………………. ……………………………...................................19 Demographic Characteristics…………………………………………………………….20 Social Anxiety, Age, & Gender………………………………………………….20 Social Anxiety & Race…………………………………………………………...21 Race & Perfectionism……………………………………………………………21 Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and College Major…………………………………….23 Comorbid Features of Social Anxiety…….......................................................................24 Etiology of Social Anxiety...................................................................…………………..27 Neuro-Physiological Influences……………………………….………................27 The Serotonergic System………………………………………...............29 The Dopaminenergic System…………………………………………….30 The GABAergic system………………………………………………….31 Genetic Factors…………......................................................................................31 Cognitive factors…………………………….…..................................................33 The Conscious Cognitions of Social Anxiety……………………………33 iii Information Processing Biases in Social Anxiety………….……….........39 Environmental Factors……………………………………….…..........................42 The Role of the Family…………………….….………………................42 Parenting Style & Parental Personality……….….………………………43 Limited and Restricted Exposure………….………..................................45 Other Environmental Factors…………….………………………………46 Perfectionism & Mental Illness………………………………………………………….47 Perfectionism and Depression……………………………………………………47 Perfectionism and the Eating Disorders…………..………...................................48 Perfectionism and Social Anxiety. ….…………………………………...............49 Chapter Summary.…………………………………………………….................51 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY…………………………………………………………52 Participants……………………………………………………………………………….52 Materials and Measures.…………………………………………………………………53 Perfectionism Instruments..…..…………………………………….....................54 Social Anxiety Instruments……………………………….……………..............55 Procedures…………………………………….................................................................55 Research Questions…..……..………………………………………………...................56 Proposed Statistical Analysis….………………………………………………...............57 Chapter Summary..……………………………………………........................................58 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS………………………………………………………………..59 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………...59 Research Question 1…………………………………………………………………......59 Research Question 2……………………………………………………………………..60 Research Question 3……………………………………………………………………..60 Additional Findings……………………………………………………………..............62 Tables of Results………………………………………………………………………..63 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION…………………………………………………………....75 Brief Summary of Findings……………………………………………………………...75 Social Anxiety and Perfectionism (Research Question1).……………………..76 Social Anxiety & Academic Major (Research Question 2).……………………77 Perfectionism & Academic Major (Research Question 3)…….……………….78 Social Anxiety, Perfectionism, and Demographic Variables…………………...79 Conclusions and Implications…………..………………………………………………..81 Recommendations for Future Research………………………………………………….82 Methodological Enhancements and Research Suggestions……………………………...83 Policy Recommendations………………………………………………………………..85 Practitioner Recommendations……………………………………………….................86 Recommendations: Conclusion…………………………………………………….......89 Final Summary…………………………………………………………………………..90 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………………..94 iv APPENDICES………………………………………………………………………………….118 Appendix A: DSM Criterion for Social Anxiety …..…….……………………………118 Appendix B: The Social Phobia Scale (SPS)..………...…………….............................119 Appendix C: The Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS)……...…………………….121 Appendix D: Multidimentional Perfectionism Scale (MPS)…………………...............123 Appendix E: Brief Demographics Survey………....…………………………………...125 Appendix F: Informed Consent Form………………………………………………….126 v Acknowledgments I would first like to thank my advisor and first reader, Barbara Okun, for her support from the day I applied to the doctoral program to the day I defended my dissertation. I would also like to thank second reader, Professor Manny Mason, for his statistical and research methods guidance, especially his open-mindedness and innovation in helping solve some of the early methodological challenges of this project. Significant gratitude must also go out to third reader, Professor Todd Kates, for his professional advice and personal encouragement. I would like to thank Professor Mary Ballou for her mentorship these past four years. From being your student, co-teacher, research collaborator, and friend, your support always seemed to help me move toward the finish line. Your unending devotion and empathy to your students will always provide inspiration for me in my professional life. I would like to thank my parents-in-law, Joseph and Karen Hewes, who for much of my writing, researching, and proposing of this dissertation were there for me with unconditional love and support. I would like to thank my father, Douglas Villiers, and mother, Lena Proudlock for the privilege of studying at the best schools in England and the United States, and for their faith in my endeavor to be a psychologist. Thank you also to my wife, Sarah Villiers, for all the sacrifices you have made to get me to this point in my professional life. It will be returned ten-fold. vi Dedication I dedicate this dissertation to all those children, adolescents, and adults suffering from social anxiety disorder. Your bravery and courage in the face of fear deserve our attention, admiration, and respect. vii Abstract The relationship between social anxiety and perfectionism was explored among college students. Although a good deal of research has demonstrated a strong interaction between perfectionism and several forms of psychopathology, extending this research to social anxiety has received less attention. The few studies that have studied this relationship have demonstrated some inconsistent results, specifically finding only correlations between social anxiety and two or three of the six dimensions of perfectionism put forth by Frost et al.‟s (1994) Multidimensional Perfectionism Questionnaire. Likewise, previous work has involved only adults in anxiety treatment center locations. This study sought to extend these findings to a non- clinical college student population. In investigating a possible relationship, math and physics majors were compared to communication and music majors on social anxiety and perfectionism measures. The study predicted that high social anxiety traits would predict higher perfectionist traits, and that math and physics majors will experience social anxiety more than music and communication majors. Three research questions were proposed: 1) Are college students with anxiety traits more likely to have perfectionist traits than college students who do not have social anxiety traits? 2) Are social anxiety traits more common among math and physics majors than communication and music majors? 3) Are perfectionist traits more common among math and physics majors than communication and music majors? In answering research question 1: A statistically significant correlation was found between Frost‟s Overall Perfectionism Score and scores from both the Social Phobia Scale and the Social Interaction Anxiety Score across all groups. In answering research question 2, math and physics majors had statistically