Perfectionism, emotional disturbance and its relation to eating disorder symptomatology

Abstract

A study with Portuguese adolescents: Perfectionism has been associated with the development of eating disorder symptomatology, even though it is still necessary its scrutiny within adolescents of both sexes.  We aimed to investigate the relations between perfectionism and emotional disturbance symptoms in the development of eating disorders symptomatology in a sample of 531 adolescents.  The instruments used were the Eating Attitudes Test 26, the Cuestionario Educativo-Clínico: Ansiedad y Depresión and the perfectionism subscale of the Eating Disorder Inventory 2. By means of hierarchical multiple regression analysis was possible to identify, within the adolescent girls’ group that diet, self-oriented perfectionism and depression contributed significantly for 42% of the variance of eating disorder’s symptoms. In the adolescent boys’ global perfectionism and emotional disturbance symptoms that contributed to explain 10% of the symptomology’s variance of this disturbance. Implications for the studied eating disorders risk factors’ in adolescence are discussed so as its assessment means.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17575/rpsicol.v29i1.986