Perfectionism and social anxiety among university students in Malaysia

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between perfectionism and social anxiety among university students. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 250 students from the Management and Science University. The respondents were selected by random using numbering method. Their participation is voluntary and answers given were anonymous. Results: A total number of 250 university students participated in this study. The majority of them were female (69.6%), 21 years old of age or younger (52.4%), Malay (71.6%), single (97.6%), from medical and health faculty (60.4%), with Cumulative Grade Point Average, CGPA (40.4%), with monthly income less than 5000 Ringgit Malaysia, 42.8% suffer from severe anxiety and 70.8% have high perfectionism. Univariate and Multivariate analysis showed that social anxiety significantly associated with perfectionism among university students (p<0.001, p<0.001) respectively. Conclusion: We conclude that social anxiety among university students are strongly associated with high perfectionism.