Worry, procrastination, and perfectionism: Differentiating amount of worry, pathological worry, anxiety, and depression

This study investigates features that differentiate worry from somatic anxi ety and depression. Theoretical models of the worry process suggest that wo rry is closely related to procrastination. In addition, research on worry a nd elevated evidence requirements proposes a relationship between worry and perfectionism. Perfectionism, however, is multidimensional in nature. More over, previous research has linked procrastination and perfectionism mainly to anxiety and depression. Therefore, the relationship among worry, procra stination, and dimensions of perfectionism was investigated irt a sample of 180 students, controlling for anxiety and depression. Results show that wo rry had substantial correlations with procrastination and perfectionism, pa rticularly with perfectionist concern over mistakes and doubts. Moreover, w orry was related to parental criticism and expectations, but unrelated to e xcessively high personal standards. instead high-worriers reported to lower standards under stress. Partial correlations indicated that these correlat ions were specific for amount of worry, thus differentiating amount of worr y, pathological worry, anxiety, and depression.