Perfectionism in Children and Adolescents with Eating-Related Symptoms: A Systematic Review and a Meta-Analysis of Effect Estimates

• Main Authors: Audrey Livet (Author), Xavier Navarri (Author), Philippe Pétrin Pomerleau (Author), Sébastien Champagne (Author), Fakir Md Yunus (Author), Nicholas Chadi (Author), Gail McVey (Author), Patricia Conrod (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: MDPI AG, 2023-04-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 10.3390/adolescents3020022; 2673-7051
• Keywords: perfectionism; anorexia nervosa; bulimia nervosa; eating disorders; adolescence; Psychiatry; RC435-571; Pediatrics; RJ1-570; Psychology; BF1-990
• Source: Adolescents, Vol 3, Iss 2, Pp 305-329 (2023)

Background: Over 40 years of research implicates perfectionism in eating disorders in childhood and adolescence. However, the nature of this relationship remains understudied. To address this gap, we performed a systematic review and a meta-analysis to quantify the magnitude of the associations between perfectionism (i.e., unidimensional perfectionism, perfectionistic strivings, and perfectionistic concerns) and eating-related symptoms during childhood and adolescence. Methods: The literature search was conducted using five electronic databases in accordance with PRISMA guidelines: MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL Complete, APA PsycINFO, and EMB Reviews. A total of 904 studies were identified; a total of 126 were included in the systematic review, and 65 in the meta-analysis (N = 29,268). Sensitivity analyses were also carried out to detect potential differences in age and clinical status. Results: All the associations we investigated were both significant and positive. Small effect sizes were found between eating global scores and unidimensional perfectionism, perfectionistic strivings, and perfectionistic concerns (r_es = 0.19, r_es = 0.21, r_es = 0.12, respectively) and remained significant in each age group in both clinical and community samples. Perfectionistic concerns were moderately associated with all eating measures, especially in community samples and samples with a mean age under 14. Conclusions: Psychological interventions specially designed to target perfectionistic concerns in the early stages of development may help prevent the onset or reduce the intensity of eating-related symptoms during childhood and adolescence.