Abstract
Musicians are at increased risk for mental disorders, in particular performance anxiety, likely due to high levels of occupational stress, and special personality traits and coping skills. In this cross-sectional study, we examined the accuracy of the MINI-plus to diagnose performance anxiety as social phobia. Routine Outcome Monitoring data were used to compare clinical and psychosocial characteristics of the first 50 musicians (39.1 years ± 12.5 yr, 42% male) visiting our outpatient clinic for performing artists to large samples of psychiatric outpatients and subjects from the general population. We found that 82% (n = 41) of the music outpatients met the criteria of an Axis I psychiatric disorder. Performance anxiety was diagnosed in 30% (N = 15), often inaccurately classified as social phobia with the MINI-plus. Musicians displayed significant less functional limitations but more narcissism in comparison with general outpatients (p = 0.001). Diagnostic challenges of musicians seeking psychiatric care are thoroughly discussed.
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