Perfectionism, Emotion Regulation and Their Relationship to Negative Affect in Patients with Social Phobia

CONTEXT: Research on the perfectionism and emotion regulation strategies in anxiety disorders has gained increased attention. These have an important implication for formulation of therapies. AIMS: We examined perfectionism, emotion regulation were examined in 30 patients with social phobia (SP) and 30 community participants. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A cross-sectional design using a clinical and a community control sample was adopted in this exploratory study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Participants were assessed on The Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview, Frost's-Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, Ruminative Response Scale of the response style questionnaire, cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire, Social Interaction Anxiety Scale and the Beck's Depression Inventory. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Data was analyzed using independents samples t-test and Pearson's Product moment correlations and step-wise linear regression. RESULTS: Individuals with SP had higher perfectionism (mean = 100.30, SD = ±17.73, t = 7.29, P < 0.001), rumination (mean = 61.47, SD = ±11.96, t = 6.71, P < 0.001) and lower levels of positive reappraisal (mean = 11.53, SD = ±3.85, t = 4.90, P < 0.001). Perfectionism was correlated with social anxiety (r = 0.44, P < 0.05) and rumination (r = 0.43, P < 0.05), but not with depression. Rumination was positively correlated with both social anxiety (r = 0.513, P < 0.01) and depression (r = 0.485, P < 0.01). Positive reappraisal was negatively correlated with depression (r = -0.396, P < 0.05) and anxiety (r = -0.335, P < 0.05). Acceptance was found to be significantly correlated only to the reflective pondering subscale of rumination. Parental criticism was a significant predictor of social anxiety (F = 11.11, P < 0.01) and brooding predicted depression (F = 10.49, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the role of perfectionism as a maintaining factor in SP and the importance of adaptive forms of emotion regulation that need to be addressed in psychological interventions.