title: From socially prescribed perfectionism to problematic use of internet communicative services: the mediating roles of perceived social support and the fear of negative evaluation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The present study developed and tested a model that explains how people who believe that others have unrealistically high standards and exert pressure on them to be perfect (that is, people high in socially prescribed perfectionism) develop a problematic use of internet communicative services (GPIU). Following the perfectionism social disconnection model and previous evidence about the role that the online environment might play in the development of problematic internet use, low reported social support and the fear of negative evaluations in face to face interactions were hypothesized to mediate the association between socially prescribed perfectionism and GPIU.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sample of 465 undergraduate students was recruited (240 F; mean age 21.91+2.23years), and the hypotheses were tested through structural equation modeling separately for men and women.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among men, the association between SPP and GPIU was fully mediated by the fear of being negatively evaluated and the perception of low social support. For women, we found a partially mediated model in which SPP affected GPIU indirectly through the fear of negative evaluations. The presence of a direct effect of SPP on GPIU was also found. Moreover, perceived social support was not found to be a significant mediator among women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings suggest that problematic use of internet communicative services might be, at least in part, a defensive response to extreme social evaluation pressures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, Psychology and Psychiatry Unit, University of Florence, via di San Salvi 12, 50100, Florence, Italy. Electronic address: silvia.casale@unifi.it.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Casale
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, Psychology and Psychiatry Unit, University of Florence, via di San Salvi 12, 50100, Florence, Italy. Electronic address: giulia.fioravanti@unifi.it.
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fioravanti
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, York University, 2275 Bayview Ave, ON M4N 3M6, North York, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: gflett@yorku.ca.
authors.forename: Gordon L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Flett
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, 2136 West Mall, V6T1Z4 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Electronic address: phewitt@psych.ubc.ca.
authors.forename: Paul L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Hewitt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003142:Communication; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality; D012737:Sex Factors; D012938:Social Perception; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Fear of negative evaluation; Generalized problematic internet use; Perfectionism social disconnection model; Social support; Socially prescribed perfectionism