Investigation of Physical Appearance Perfectionism and Social-Physical Anxiety In College Students

This study aimed to compare the physical appearance perfectionism and social physique anxiety scores of university students with respect to different variables and to reveal the relationship between these variables. The study group, which was selected through convenience sampling, consisted of 191 university students, 111 women (Xage = 20.59) and 80 men (Xage = 21.39). This cross-sectional study was planned as a correlational survey model. The “Physical Appearance Perfectionism Scale”, and “Social Physique Anxiety Scale” were used as data collection tools. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and Pearson correlation analyses were performed. The “hope for perfection” subscale of the Physical Appearance Perfectionism Scale and “comfort with appearance” subscale of the Social Physique Anxiety Scale were negatively correlated (r = -.31; p < .05), while the former showed a positive association with the “expectation of negative evaluation” subscale (r = .16; p < .05). The results of the analysis showed that the participants' Physical Appearance Perfectionism and Social Physique Anxiety scores did not differ significantly according to gender or course of study (p > .05). The Physical Appearance Perfectionism scores also showed no significant differences based on exercise habits, although the “comfort with appearance” scores of the participants who exercised were significantly higher (t = 2.00; p < .05). Overall, the students who reported an intense striving for perfection were not comfortable with their appearance and expected negative judgment, whereas those engaging in exercise were comfortable with their appearance.