Multidimensional perfectionism, depression and relational health in women with eating disturbances

ObjectiveThis study investigated multidimensional perfectionism, depression, and relational health and quality across varying severities of eating disorders. The Questionnaire for Eating Disorder Diagnoses (Mintz, O'Halloran, Mulholland, & Schneider, 1997) was used to distinguish clinical, subclinical, and asymptomatic groupings.MethodThe sample included 212 women recruited from a university and an eating disorder treatment center.ResultsResults indicated significant differences across all the three groups on perfectionistic discrepancy. All three groups also differed on their level of depressive mood. However, there were no significant group differences on relational health and quality.DiscussionThis study contributes to the understanding of intrapersonal and interpersonal correlates of eating disorders and subclinical eating disturbances. This understanding allows for better identification of vulnerability to eating disorders and offers the potential to design more specialized and effective treatments.

► Compared women with clinical, subclinical, and asymptomatic eating disturbances
► All three groups differed on perfectionistic discrepancy and depressive mood.
► There were minimal group differences on relational health and quality.