Physical appearance perfectionism and social physique anxiety among Chinese college students: the mediating role of fear of negative evaluation

Introduction Social physique anxiety is a common concern among college students and is linked to body dissatisfaction, low self-esteem, and elevated eating-disorder risk. Although physical appearance perfectionism has been consistently associated with social physique anxiety, its underlying psychological mechanism and whether this mechanism operates similarly across genders remain insufficiently clarified. Methods This study aimed to examine the mediating role of fear of negative evaluation in the association between physical appearance perfectionism and social physique anxiety, and to test whether the proposed mediation model operates similarly across genders. A convenience sample of 431 undergraduates ( Mage = 19.79, SD = 1.49) from three universities in Guilin, China, completed the Physical Appearance Perfectionism Scale, the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale, and the Social Physique Anxiety Scale. Results The results showed that fear of negative evaluation partially mediated the physical appearance perfectionism–social physique anxiety association, accounting for approximately 58.4% of the total association. Dimensional analyses indicated that worry about imperfection was significantly positively associated with fear of negative evaluation ( β = 0.69, p < 0.001), whereas hope for perfection did not ( β = 0.07, p = 0.311); accordingly, significant indirect associations emerged only from worry about imperfection, and fear of negative evaluation fully mediated its association with social-comparison anxiety. Moreover, partial scalar invariance was established across genders, and a multigroup analysis suggested that the mediation model was similar between male and female students. Discussion These findings clarify a social-cognitive pathway linking physical appearance perfectionism to social physique anxiety and offer empirical support for gender-generalizable, evaluation-focused prevention and intervention programs.