The purpose of this study was to test mediating effects of internalized shame on the relations among personal standards perfectionism, evaluative concerns perfectionism, and anger expression. For that purpose, 305 college students(men: 158, women: 147...
The purpose of this study was to test mediating effects of internalized shame on the relations among personal standards perfectionism, evaluative concerns perfectionism, and anger expression. For that purpose, 305 college students(men: 158, women: 147) were surveyed with a questionnaire consisting of the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale by Hewitt, Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale by Frost, Internalized Shame Scale, and Anger Expression Inventory. Data were analyzed with t-test, correlation analysis, and hierarchical regression analysis. The research findings were as follows:
First, there were no differences in personal standards perfectionism and evaluative concerns perfectionism according to gender, but significant differences were found in internalized shame and anger expression styles according to gender. The female students recorded a higher level in internalized shame than their male counterparts. While the male students used anger control more, the female students used anger in and anger out more. Second, there were close positive correlations between evaluative concerns perfectionism and shame both in the male and female students. While evaluative concerns perfectionism had significant positive correlations with anger in and anger out among the male students, it did with anger in among the female students. Finally, shame had complete mediating effects between evaluative concerns perfectionism and anger in and anger out, which are maladaptive anger expression styles. Those findings indicate that internal psychological factors such as evaluative concerns perfectionism and internalized shame beneath it are important in inducing maladaptive anger expression styles and imply that interventions focused on internalized shame are important and can be effective in counseling college students with an anger expression problem.