Self-Assessment and Expectation of Attractiveness: An Investigation into Subtypes of Body Dysmorphic Disorder

This study investigated whether there are subtypes of BDD. Participants had been diagnosed with either 1) Body Dysmorphie Disorder (BDD; N = 35) or 2) both Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and BDD (N = 22). The following groups were included in this study for comparison purposes: participants who have been diagnosed with OCD (N = 37), those who have diagnosed with other psychological disorders (N = 74), and healthy controls (N = 130). A total of 301 participants completed an Internet survey consisting of the following measures: the Overvalued Ideas Scale (OVIS), the Rating of your Attractiveness Questionnaire (RYA), the Body Dysmprohic Scale Based on Yale Brown Obsessive-compulsive Disorder Scale (BDD-YBOCS), the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS) and the Appearance Related Questionnaire (ARQ). Fifty-seven participants were administered the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Axis I Disorders (SCID-CV) prior to completing the Internet survey. Due to low participant interest in completion of the SCID-CV, the remaining participants were not administered the SCID-CV; on the Internet survey, there were no significant differences found between participants who had and had not been administered the SCID-CV. It was hypothesized that there would be two subtypes of BDD: one that was more perfectionistic (PBDD), and one that was less perfectionistic (NPBDD). It was proposed that the NPBDD group would report believing that they required an average level of attractiveness, as measured by the RYA, to successfully function in various life domains, while it was proposed that the PBDD subtype would report believing that they required an above average level of attractiveness.;Cluster analysis results yielded two subtypes of BDD, one that was significantly more perfectionistic than the other, as predicted. The PBDD cluster was significantly more likely to be diagnosed with Bulimia, and scored significantly higher on the Concern for Mistakes scale, Personal Standards scale, and Total Perfectionism score of the MPS when compared to the NBBDD cluster. However, the subtypes did not differ in terms of fluctuation of self-assessment or discrepancy between self-rated and self-required attractiveness, and did not differ in terms of symptom severity. Additional predictions, results, implications, and suggestions for treatment are examined.