Development of a striving to avoid inferiority scale

Social rank theory suggests that mood variation is linked to the security a person feels in his/her social domain and the extent to which they are sensitive to involuntary subordination (e.g. feeling defeated and feeling inferior). Previous studies looking at rank-related and competitive behaviour have often focused on striving for dominance, whereas social rank theory has focused on striving to avoid inferiority. This study set out to develop a measure of 'Striving to Avoid Inferiority' (SAIS) and assess its relationship to other rank and mood-related variables. We hypothesized two factors: one we called insecure striving, relating to fear of rejection/criticism for 'not keeping up', and the second we called secure non-striving, relating to feeling socially acceptable and valued regardless of whether one succeeds or not. This scale was given to 207 undergraduates. The SAIS had good psychometric properties, with the two factors of insecure striving and secure non-striving strongly supported by exploratory factor analysis. Both factors were significantly (though contrastingly) related to various fears of rejection, need for validation, hypercompetitive attitudes, feeling inferior to others, submissive behaviour and indicators of stress, anxiety and depression. Striving to avoid inferiority was a significant predictor of psychopathologies, especially where individuals perceived themselves to have low social rank.

The dark side of competition: How competitive behaviour and striving to avoid inferiority are linked to depression, anxiety, stress and self-harm

This study was guided by the social rank theory of depression and aimed to explore the relationship between depression, anxiety, stress and self-harm with striving to avoid inferiority, feelings of shame and styles of attachment. Participants diagnosed with depression (n = 62) completed a series of questionnaires measuring striving to avoid inferiority, fears of missing out, being overlooked and active rejection, attachment, social rank and psychopathologies. Striving to avoid inferiority was significantly linked to social rank variables and anxious attachment. Mediator analyses revealed that the relationship between striving to avoid inferiority and depression was mediated by the social rank variable of external shame, and also anxious attachment. These findings suggest that elevated competitive behaviour can have a 'dark side'. When people feel insecure in their social environments, it can focus them on a hierarchical view of themselves and others, with a fear of rejection if they feel they have become too inferior or subordinate. This may increase vulnerability to depression, anxiety and stress.

Eating attitudes and striving to avoid inferiority

Vulnerability to some psychopathologies may be related to feeling the need to compete, strive, and achieve in order to avoid inferiority and rejection. This study explored "insecure striving", (relating to a perceived need to strive to avoid inferiority and its consequence, rejection) in relationship to eating attitudes and appearance anxiety in students. Eating attitudes and appearance anxiety were associated with judgments of inferiority, insecure striving to avoid inferiority, and fear of losing out and were negatively associated to secure non-striving (social acceptance). Further work exploring the way people understand and react to the competitive dynamics of their social groups may illuminate important processes linked to eating disorders.