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Anxiety as a Mediator Between Perfectionism and Eating Disorders

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Abstract

There is a strong link between perfectionism and eating disorders, yet little research to date has examined mediators of this relationship. The aim of this study was to investigate the mediating effect of anxiety on the relationship between perfectionism and eating pathology in a clinical sample (N = 370, M age = 25.04, 99 % female) of treatment-seeking eating disorder patients (bulimia nervosa—41 %; eating disorder not otherwise specified—41 %; anorexia nervosa—18 %). Results from structural equation modeling indicated that anxiety partially mediated the relationship between self-oriented perfectionism and eating disorder psychopathology. The findings suggest the role of anxiety and perfectionism within cognitive-behavioral models of eating pathology, and have implications for the treatment of eating disorders.

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Conflict of Interest

We did not receive any grant funding for the research, and the ethical guidelines of the Australian Psychological Society were followed when conducting the research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia

    Sarah J. Egan & Robert T. Kane

  2. Centre for Clinical Interventions, Perth, Australia

    Hunna J. Watson, Peter McEvoy, Anthea Fursland & Paula R. Nathan

  3. School of Paediatrics and Child Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia

    Hunna J. Watson

  4. Eating Disorders Program, Princess Margaret Hospital for Children, Perth, Australia

    Hunna J. Watson

Authors
  1. Sarah J. Egan
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  2. Hunna J. Watson
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  3. Robert T. Kane
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  4. Peter McEvoy
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  5. Anthea Fursland
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  6. Paula R. Nathan
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Correspondence to Sarah J. Egan.

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Egan, S.J., Watson, H.J., Kane, R.T. et al. Anxiety as a Mediator Between Perfectionism and Eating Disorders. Cogn Ther Res 37, 905–913 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-012-9516-x

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