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Perfectionism and disordered eating cognitions with women of color: The moderating role of self-compassion

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Highlights

  • Perfectionism was positively related to disordered eating cognitions.

  • Self-compassion moderated the perfectionism-disordered eating cognitions relationship.

  • Perfectionism-disordered eating cognitions link is weaker at higher levels of self-compassion.

  • Black women reported higher self-compassion and lower disordered eating cognitions.

Abstract

Extant research suggests perfectionism is a risk factor for developing disordered eating among women, and that self-compassion may mitigate risk factors in their associations with disordered eating pathology. However, less is known about these relations among women of color (WOC). The current study examined the moderating role of self-compassion in the relationship between perfectionism and disordered eating cognitions with a sample of WOC (N = 132). Results indicated that self-compassion moderated the relationship between perfectionism and disordered eating cognitions, such that the magnitude of the relationship is significantly weaker at higher levels of self-compassion compared to lower levels of self-compassion. Black women also reported higher levels of self-compassion and lower levels of disordered eating cognitions compared to other WOC. Limitations, implications, and future directions are discussed.

Introduction

While research on eating disorders among people of color has increased (e.g., Bodell et al., 2018; Hayes et al., 2019), less is known about specific prevention and intervention tools for non-clinical women of color (WOC; Turk & Waller, 2020). Existing literature suggests that people of color may be at increased risk of developing eating disorders because of additional factors related to their racial identity, such as race-based stress and trauma, racial stereotypes, and other forms of identity-based marginalization (e.g., classism and homophobia; Burke et al., 2020). Given this increased risk, it is critical to explore constructs that may mitigate the potential for developing disordered eating behavior and its precursors.

Prior literature has found a persistent link between perfectionism and disordered eating over time (e.g., Boone, Soenens, & Luyten, 2014). Although examinations of eating disorder symptoms continue to be critically needed, scholars have also noted the need to examine the dysfunctional cognitions associated with disordered eating (a core feature in disordered eating behaviors; e.g., Moore et al., 2014). Initial prior research has supported a positive association between perfectionism and disordered eating cognitions (e.g., Boone, Claes, & Luyten, 2014).

Beyond the need to continue to explore this association is the importance of attending to the experiences of people of color, particularly WOC, in investigations of these relations (Burke et al., 2020). With a few notable exceptions (e.g., Goel et al., 2020), most research has historically focused on White/predominantly White samples (e.g., Boone, Soenens, & Luyten, 2014). However, the studies that have investigated links between perfectionism, or constructs closely related to perfectionism, and disordered eating cognitions suggest that the positive association observed with White women samples is also observed in samples of WOC (e.g., Masuda et al., 2018), but additional studies with WOC samples are required to further elucidate these relations. Additionally, investigations that explore potential mitigating factors in these links, as possible points of intervention, are also necessary (e.g., Bardone-Cone et al., 2009). One promising factor that has been identified in the literature is self-compassion.

Self-compassionate people have been found to be less likely to engage in avoidance or suppression of emotions, a known mechanism in eating disorders (Turk & Waller, 2020), and people diagnosed with eating disorders report lower levels of self-compassion (Ferreira et al., 2013). A negative relationship between self-compassion and disordered-eating-related variables (e.g., body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness) has also been found with non-clinical samples of Portuguese women (Ferreira et al., 2013). Moreover, self-compassion has been found to mitigate the impact of potential risk factors, such as weight and shape concerns, on disordered eating behaviors (Stutts & Blomquist, 2018). Given this conceptualization, it seems plausible that self-compassion may serve as an important moderator in the link between perfectionism and disordered eating cognitions.

The current study directly answers calls for more intersectional eating disorder research (i.e., Burke et al., 2020). We hypothesized that (1) perfectionism is positively related to eating disorder cognitions and (2) self-compassion will moderate the perfectionism-disordered eating cognitions link, such that the magnitude of the relationship will be weaker at higher levels of self-compassion. Following recommendations from prior studies with WOC samples (Masuda et al., 2018), we controlled for age in our primary analyses. Finally, we also conducted an exploratory within-group analysis, comparing mean differences between Black women and other WOC on our primary measures of perfectionism, self-compassion, and disordered eating cognitions to further inform the literature.

Section snippets

Participants

The present study's analyses were conducted with a non-clinical sample of 132 undergraduate WOC, aged 18 to 56 years (M = 26.20, SD = 8.41). The sample was ethnically diverse, with 64.4% (n = 85) identifying as African American/Black, 17.4% (n = 23) identifying as Asian/Asian American, 8.3% (n = 11) identifying as Latinx, 9.1% (n = 12) identifying as Multiracial, and 0.8% (n = 1) identifying as Native American/American Indian.

Measures

Trait perfectionism was assessed with the 35-item Frost

Results

Descriptive statistics for the sample are reported in Table 1. Consistent with Hypothesis 1, perfectionism was positively correlated with disordered eating cognitions. In addition, self-compassion was negatively associated with both perfectionism and disordered eating cognitions.

The moderation analyses were conducted using Model 1 of the PROCESS macro for SPSS (Hayes, 2017). Significant interactions (i.e., conditional effects) were decomposed utilizing simple slope analyses at the 16th, 50th,

Discussion

Consistent with our hypotheses, we found that perfectionism was positively correlated with disordered eating cognitions. In addition, self-compassion was found to moderate the relationship between perfectionism and disordered eating cognitions, such that the relationship was significantly weaker at higher levels of self-compassion. While few studies have specifically looked at self-compassion as a moderator in the links between potential risk factors and disordered eating variables for WOC,

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Rebecca Gwira: Conceptualization, Writing – original draft. Cirleen DeBlaere: Supervision, Writing – original draft, Formal analysis. Shola Shodiya-Zeumault: Writing – original draft. Don E. Davis: Investigation.

Declaration of competing interest

None. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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