A multi-country examination of the relationship between perfectionism and disordered eating: the indirect effect of obsessive beliefs and obsessive-compulsive symptoms

Background Despite the extensive literature on the association between perfectionism and disordered eating (DE), only scant attention has been given to the underlying processes that may mediate this relationship. The present study aimed to contribute to existing literature by investigating the direct and indirect relations between perfectionism and DE through obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms and obsessive beliefs, among community adults from three different countries and cultural backgrounds (i.e. Poland, Italy and Lebanon). Methods This is a cross-sectional study that was carried-out among 977 community adults (77.1% females, mean age: 21.94 ± 3.14 years) using the snowball sampling technique. Results Obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD) symptoms and obsessive beliefs had a partial indirect effect in the relationship between multidimensional perfectionism and disordered eating. Higher multidimensional perfectionism/obsessive beliefs were significantly associated with greater OCD symptoms and directly associated with higher DE scores. Finally, higher OCD symptoms were significantly linked to higher DE scores. Conclusion The preliminary results suggest that it would be helpful for clinicians to routinely include measures of perfectionism, OCD and obsessive beliefs when dealing with individuals who present DE problems. In addition, results hold promise for the combined use of perfectionism and OCD interventions as a potentially beneficial treatment option for DE concerns.