A Sisyphean task : Experiences of perfectionism in patients with eating disorders
(2017) In Journal of Eating Disorders 5(1).- Abstract
Background: Despite the theoretical links between eating disorders and perfectionism, the definition of perfectionism in practice is complicated. The present study explored descriptions and experiences of perfectionism described by a transdiagnostic sample of patients. Methods: In-depth, semi-structured interviews were carried out with 15 patients. The interviews were analyzed by Thematic Analysis. A comparison between the patients' scorings on the Eating Disorder Inventory-Perfectionism scale was also performed. Results: Seven themes were found: The origins of perfectionism, Top performance, Order and self-control, A perfect body, Looking good in the eyes of others, A double-edged coping strategy, and A Sisyphean task. The women in... (More)
Background: Despite the theoretical links between eating disorders and perfectionism, the definition of perfectionism in practice is complicated. The present study explored descriptions and experiences of perfectionism described by a transdiagnostic sample of patients. Methods: In-depth, semi-structured interviews were carried out with 15 patients. The interviews were analyzed by Thematic Analysis. A comparison between the patients' scorings on the Eating Disorder Inventory-Perfectionism scale was also performed. Results: Seven themes were found: The origins of perfectionism, Top performance, Order and self-control, A perfect body, Looking good in the eyes of others, A double-edged coping strategy, and A Sisyphean task. The women in this study did not emphasize weight and body as the main perfectionistic strivings. Core descriptions were instead order, self-control and top performances. All of the participants described the awareness of reaching perfectionism as impossible. Scorings of self-oriented perfectionism was significantly higher compared to socially prescribed perfectionism. No differences in the narratives related to perfectionism scores or eating disorder diagnoses were found. Conclusions: The results showed that psychometric measures do not always capture the patients' definitions of perfectionism, but regarding that perfectionism serves as a means to regulate affects and may lead into an exacerbation of the eating disorder, and the development of obsessive-compulsive symptoms, it is important to investigate the personal definitions of perfectionism.
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- author
- Petersson, Suzanne LU ; Johnsson, Per LU and Perseius, Kent-Inge
- organization
- publishing date
- 2017-02-27
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Eating disorders, Perfectionism, Qualitative research
- in
- Journal of Eating Disorders
- volume
- 5
- issue
- 1
- article number
- 3
- publisher
- BioMed Central (BMC)
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:28261478
- wos:000395733800001
- scopus:85013989897
- ISSN
- 2050-2974
- DOI
- 10.1186/s40337-017-0136-4
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 246ff400-1905-4002-8119-13b7628f4f78
- date added to LUP
- 2017-03-13 10:25:26
- date last changed
- 2024-04-14 06:54:57
@article{246ff400-1905-4002-8119-13b7628f4f78,
abstract = {{<p>Background: Despite the theoretical links between eating disorders and perfectionism, the definition of perfectionism in practice is complicated. The present study explored descriptions and experiences of perfectionism described by a transdiagnostic sample of patients. Methods: In-depth, semi-structured interviews were carried out with 15 patients. The interviews were analyzed by Thematic Analysis. A comparison between the patients' scorings on the Eating Disorder Inventory-Perfectionism scale was also performed. Results: Seven themes were found: The origins of perfectionism, Top performance, Order and self-control, A perfect body, Looking good in the eyes of others, A double-edged coping strategy, and A Sisyphean task. The women in this study did not emphasize weight and body as the main perfectionistic strivings. Core descriptions were instead order, self-control and top performances. All of the participants described the awareness of reaching perfectionism as impossible. Scorings of self-oriented perfectionism was significantly higher compared to socially prescribed perfectionism. No differences in the narratives related to perfectionism scores or eating disorder diagnoses were found. Conclusions: The results showed that psychometric measures do not always capture the patients' definitions of perfectionism, but regarding that perfectionism serves as a means to regulate affects and may lead into an exacerbation of the eating disorder, and the development of obsessive-compulsive symptoms, it is important to investigate the personal definitions of perfectionism.</p>}},
author = {{Petersson, Suzanne and Johnsson, Per and Perseius, Kent-Inge}},
issn = {{2050-2974}},
keywords = {{Eating disorders; Perfectionism; Qualitative research}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{02}},
number = {{1}},
publisher = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
series = {{Journal of Eating Disorders}},
title = {{A Sisyphean task : Experiences of perfectionism in patients with eating disorders}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40337-017-0136-4}},
doi = {{10.1186/s40337-017-0136-4}},
volume = {{5}},
year = {{2017}},
}