Trait and self-presentational dimensions of perfectionism among women with anorexia nervosa. Cognitive Therapy and Research

Trait and self-presentational dimensions of perfectionism were examined in women with anorexia nervosa (AN), a psychiatric control group of women with mood dis-orders, and a normal control group of women without mental disorders. With one exception, self-report measures and interview measures indicated that, after control-ling for self-esteem, depression, and overall psychiatric severity, compared to women with mood disorders, women with AN were distinguished by substantially higher lev-els of self-oriented perfectionism (i.e., striving to meet one’s own perfectionistic ex-pectations), socially prescribed perfectionism (i.e., striving to meet perceived others’ perfectionistic expectations), and nondisclosure of imperfection (i.e., avoiding verbal admissions of one’s perceived imperfections). Trait and self-presentational dimensions of perfectionism in women with AN are considered in relation to familial environment and identity disturbance. KEY WORDS: anorexia nervosa; eating disorders; perfectionism; personality. Extensive empirical research has examined the role of perfectionism in eat-ing disorders and appearance-related phenomena (Vitousek & Manke, 1994). Th