Abstract
► Perfectionism as a mediator between obsessive–compulsive and eating disorder symptoms. ► Higher ED symptoms were linked to greater perfectionism and greater OC symptoms. ► Perfectionism mediated the relationship between elevated OC and ED symptoms. ► Perfectionism may serve as a shared etiological feature among ED and OC symptoms.
The present study aimed to investigate whether perfectionism mediates the association between obsessive–compulsive (OC) and eating disorder (ED) symptoms. Analyses were conducted using data collected among a national sample of eating disordered women diagnosed with BN or a subclinical variant of BN (N=204). Each participant completed a series of self-report inventories on perfectionism, as well as OC, ED, and depressive symptoms. Higher ED symptoms were significantly associated with greater levels of perfectionism (p<.01) and OC symptoms (p<.05). As hypothesized, perfectionism significantly mediated the relationship between ED and OC symptoms, controlling for depression. Findings indicate that perfectionism may be considered a shared etiological or phenomenological factor in ED and OC symptoms.
