ABSTRACT
This naturalistic, prospective investigation examined the role of fear of negative evaluation and the personality trait of harm avoidance in the anxiety levels of treated social phobia patients. One hundred and fifty-seven patients with DSM-IV social phobia were assessed before starting treatment and were then followed for up to two years. As expected, greater fear of negative evaluation and higher scores of harm avoidance were associated with greater anxiety at the 6 month follow-up, and harm avoidance remained a significant predictor at 24 months. However, no evidence was found for an interaction between the personality and cognitive variables examined. The findings are discussed in terms of the relative independence of these factors, as well as their potential implications for the treatment of this disorder.
Subject(s)
Fear , Harm Reduction , Interpersonal Relations , Phobic Disorders/diagnosis , Social Desirability , Adult , Character , Cognitive Behavioral Therapy , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Personality Assessment , Phobic Disorders/psychology , Phobic Disorders/therapy , Psychoanalytic Therapy , Psychotherapy, GroupABSTRACT
Body dysmorphic disorder (B.D.D.) consists of a preoccupation with an imagined or slight physical defect. This study is the first European report on prevalence and several clinical and functional characteristics of patients with B.D.D. in a cosmetic surgery setting. Comparisons with defect- and severity-matched subjects without B.D.D. were also performed.
