Self-discrepancy in social phobia and dysthymia

Research based on Higgin's self-discrepancy theory has generally found that depression and anxiety can be differentiated on the basis of discrepancies between actual views of one's self versus one's ideal self and between actual self versus the self others expect. This study sought to replicate and extend this work by comparing the self-discrepancies of individuals with social phobia, dysthymia, and comorbid social phobia and depression with those of matched normal persons. Persons with generalized social phobia or dysthymia and the comorbid group reported greater actual: ought/other discrepancies than did normal participants. The comorbid group, but not the dysthymic group as expected, had elevated actual:ideal discrepancies. Overall self-discrepancy scores were less extreme and more variable than expected. Implications for self-discrepancy theory and understanding the relation between anxiety and depression are discussed.