Relationship between perfectionism, self-objectification and risk of eating disorders in young women in Lithuania
Open Access
- 10 August 2021
- journal article
- Published by Vilnius University Press in Socialiniai tyrimai
- Vol. 44 (2), 8-33
- https://doi.org/10.15388/soctyr.44.2.1
Abstract
The goal of this study was to examine risk of eating disorders, perfectionism and self-objectification, as well as the interrelationship between perfectionism and self-objectification in young females. This study was based on the theory of the Cult of Thinness and the dominant culture that supports it. Such research was never conducted in Lithuania before. It was hypothesized that there would be a positive relationship between risk of eating disorders, perfectionism and self-objectification. Also, it was predicted that this relationship would be different in women without risk of eating disorders, and that there would be a positive relationship between perfectionism and self-objectification. A total of 217 females aged 18–24 participated in this study. Their average age was 20 years. The research was conducted in Lithuanian Facebook groups for university students and those interested in healthy eating and dieting. Several instruments were used in the research: Eating Attitudes Test – 26 (EAT–26) (Garner ir kt., 1982), Almost Perfect Scale – Revised (APS-R) (Slaney, Mobley, Trippi, Ashby ir Johnson, 2001) and Objectified Body Consciousness Scale (OBC) (McKinley ir Hyde, 1996). The participants were also asked about their gender, age and place of residence. The results revealed that women at risk for eating disorders are associated with higher levels of body shame. Women who do not have a risk of developing eating disorders, are more inclined to set high standards for themselves than those who have a risk of developing it. Women at risk for eating disorders are also more likely to see themselves as failing to meet their personal standards for performance than those with no risk of eating disorders. Also, the study showed that the higher the degree of women’s discrepancy between expectations and performance, the higher is the extent of their body shame. These results could be helpful in the treatment of young women with eating disorders and disordered eating.Keywords
This publication has 52 references indexed in Scilit:
- Reducing self-objectification: are dissonance-based methods a possible approach?Journal of Eating Disorders, 2013
- Mortality and Its Predictors in Severe Bulimia Nervosa PatientsEuropean Eating Disorders Review, 2012
- The role of coping responses in the relationship between perceived stress and disordered eating in a cross‐cultural sample of female university studentsStress & Health, 2009
- Anorexic self‐control and bulimic self‐hate: Differential outcome prediction from initial self‐imageInternational Journal of Eating Disorders, 2008
- Disordered Eating: Identifying, Treating, Preventing, and Differentiating It From Eating DisordersDiabetes Spectrum, 2007
- Perfectionism and eating disorders: Current status and future directionsClinical Psychology Review, 2007
- The relation among perfectionism, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder in individuals with eating disordersInternational Journal of Eating Disorders, 2005
- The role of stress in the association between low self-esteem, perfectionism, and worry, and eating disordersInternational Journal of Eating Disorders, 2005
- The role of body objectification in disordered eating and depressed moodBritish Journal of Clinical Psychology, 2004
- Self-Objectification and Its Psychological Outcomes for College WomenPsychology of Women Quarterly, 2002