Perfectionism and self-consciousness in social phobia and panic disorder with agoraphobia

Social phobics were compared to patients with panic disorder with agoraphob ia and normal controls on perfectionism and self-consciousness. On concern over mistakes and doubts about action, social phobics scored higher than pa tients with panic disorder. Social phobics also demonstrated a higher level of public self-consciousness than patients with panic disorder and when th is difference was controlled for the significant differences on perfectioni sm disappeared. Within each patient group, however, perfectionism was more robustly related to social anxiety than was public self-consciousness, whic h replicates the findings of Saboonchi and Lundh [Saboonchi, F. & Lundh, L. G. (1997). Perfectionism, self-consciousness and anxiety. Personality and Individual Differences, 22, 921-928.] from a non-clinical sample. The resul ts are discussed in terms of public self-consciousness being a differentiat ing characteristic of the more severe kind of social anxiety which is typic al of social phobia. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.