Socioeconomic Status, Family Intactness and Perfectionism in a College Student Sample At-Risk For Developing Eating Disorders

One hundred eighty-seven college students served as participants to investigate social class, family intactness, and perfectionism in relation to eating disorders. Of the 187 participants, thirty-three were classified as at-risk for developing eating disorders, according to the Setting Conditions for Anorexia Nervosa Scale (Slade & Dewey, 1986). All participants completed demographic questionnaires, the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (Hewitt & Flett, 1991), and objective measures of perfectionism. Individuals at-risk for eating disorders displayed higher levels of perfectionistic characteristics as measured by the MPS than their peers who were not classified as at-risk. Furthermore, high levels of perfectionism in the at-risk group were attributed to socially prescribed perfectionism, rather than self-oriented perfectionism or other-oriented perfectionism. Results also revealed no significant differences between at-risk individuals and the comparison group on measures of social class and family intactness. In summary, the current study supports the association between perfectionism and individuals at-risk for developing eating disorders