An examination of psychological disorders, social anxiety, and perfectionism in high-achieving undergraduate students

There is a long-standing debate on whether high-achieving students experience a better or worse psychological well-being than their peers. This retrospective cohort study adds to the current literature by examining the differences in rates of psychological disorders, social anxiety, and perfectionism between high-achieving and typical undergraduate students. A convenience sample of 357 students was gathered from the University of Central Florida (UCF). Participants were asked to fill out a brief survey which included questions about demographics, grade point average (GPA), social anxiety, perfectionism, enrollment in The Burnett Honors College, inclusion in any childhood gifted programs, and diagnosis of psychological disorders. Two groups (a High-Achieving group and a Comparison group) were formed based on GPA scores and enrollment in The Burnett Honors College at UCF. Relative risk and chi-squared analyses were conducted to see if there was a significant relationship between group classification and the incidence of psychological disorders, self-injury, and social anxiety. T-tests were used to compare group means of social anxiety and perfectionism. A statistically significant relationship was found between group classification and the incidence of psychological disorders, self-injury, and social anxiety (p = .033, p = .028, and p \u3c .001). The High-Achieving group scored significantly higher on the SPAI-23 SP Subscale (p = .032), the SPAI-23 Difference Score (p \u3c .001), and the APS-R Standards Subscale (p \u3c 0.001). Altogether, the findings of this study indicate that High-Achieving undergraduate students experience a worse psychological well-being than their typical undergraduate student peers