The Effect of Anxiety Treatment through Schema Therapy on the Positive and Negative Perfectionism of 20-30 Year-Old Women

Systematic review of research suggests that different variables can affect the treatment of anxiety and that, although many therapies can be effective, the role of schema therapy in the perfectionism of anxious people has been neglected. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of anxiety treatment through schema therapy on perfectionism of anxious people. The study was an applied quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design and a control group.

From among all the women with anxiety aged 20 to 30 years referring to the New Presence Clinic in Tehran, a sample of 30 were selected by purposive sampling and randomly assigned to either an experimental (n =15) or a control (15 people) group. Initially they all completed the Terry-Short et al. (1995) Perfectionism Questionnaire. Then the experimental group received education in schema therapy, followed by a post-test for both groups. The data were analysed using multivariate analysis of covariance the software SPSSV19.

Statistically significant differences were found between the two groups as regards the two components of positive (p<0.019; F=6.275) and negative (p<0.006; F=9.136) perfectionism. Based on the descriptive findings it can be said that, compared with the control group, the experimental group could, after the schema therapy intervention, obtain lower scores in the perfectionism components post-test.

Based on the findings of this study, it can be said that schema therapy in the treatment of anxiety can reduce the perfectionism of individuals. Therefore, a knowledge of this training can help psychologists, counsellors, students and other professionals to improve the positive and negative perfectionism variables in people suffering from anxiety.