Perfectionism, social anxiety and self-esteem among first year arts and business college students

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between perfectionism, social anxiety and self-esteem in first year Arts and Business students (n=109). The results revealed that there were no significant differences for any of the three variables between both courses. There were no gender differences on global perfectionism or on social anxiety. However, males’ self-esteem was significantly higher than that of females. The males have also scored significantly higher on perceived parental expectations than the females. There was a significant relationship found between maladaptive perfectionism subscales and self-esteem and also between social anxiety and self-esteem. Social anxiety also correlated with global perfectionism as well as maladaptive perfectionism subscales. Implications for future research and suggestions for practice are explored in the discussion section. Author keywords: Perfectionism, social anxiety, self-esteem, college students