title: Personality traits as vulnerability factors in body dysmorphic disorder.
abstract: Cognitive behavioural models consider certain personality traits to be risk factors for the development of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). Research on personality traits in BDD is scarce, therefore this study examined perfectionism, aesthetic sensitivity and the behavioural inhibition system (BIS) in BDD. Furthermore, the association between these personality traits and the extent of dysmorphic concerns was investigated. Individuals with BDD (n=58) and a population based control sample (n=2071), selected from a representative German population survey, completed self-report questionnaires assessing DSM-5 criteria of BDD, dysmorphic concerns, perfectionism, aesthetic sensitivity and BIS-reactivity. Individuals with BDD reported significantly higher degrees of perfectionism as well as of BIS-reactivity compared to the population based control sample, whereas the groups did not differ significantly regarding aesthetic sensitivity. However, for the total sample, each of the personality traits was related dimensionally to dysmorphic concerns. Current BDD models consider perfectionism and aesthetic sensitivity to be vulnerability factors. In addition to these concepts, the present study suggests that BIS-reactivity is related to BDD. Self-reported aesthetic sensitivity was not found to be specifically pronounced in BDD, but along with perfectionism and BIS-reactivity aesthetic sensitivity was generally associated with dysmorphic concerns.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Erlangen, University of Erlangen-Nuernberg, Schwabachanlage 6, 91054 Erlangen, Germany. Electronic address: katharina.schieber@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schieber
authors.forename: Ines
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kollei
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Zwaan
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D057215:Body Dysmorphic Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012307:Risk Factors; D057566:Self Report; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Aesthetic sensitivity; BIS-reactivity; Behavioural inhibition; Dysmorphic concerns; Perfectionism