Perceived incompetence and disordered eating among college students

The concepts of ineffectiveness and task-specific failure have both been studied in relation to disordered eating. A new, related concept that may have more clinical utility is that of perceived incompetence, or the feeling that one is inadequate in specific life domains. The purposes of this study were to (a) validate a measure of perceived incompetence, and (b) determine the degree to which perceived incompetence and disordered eating are related and the implications of such a relationship. Participants were 403 undergraduate students who completed questionnaires to assess levels of perceived incompetence, disordered eating, and self-esteem. Based on adequate convergent validity with a measure of self-esteem and a confirmatory factor analysis, this measure of perceived incompetence was deemed appropriate for use. Additionally, bivariate correlations indicated that perceived incompetence in life domains such as Appearance, Close Friendships, Morality, and Social Acceptance, was related to disordered eating. Clinicians may want to incorporate perceived incompetence into treatment by encouraging students to find healthier ways to cope or helping them accept or focus less on areas of perceived incompetence.