The relationship between perfectionism and eating pathology: the mediating roles of body dissatisfaction and alexithymia

This study examined the relationship between perfectionism and eating pathology, and investigated the mediating role of body dissatisfaction and alexithymia in the relationship. Two studies were employed in the current research. A large sample (N = 2420) with cross-sectional data was used to determine the relationship between perfectionism and eating pathology, whereas three-wave longitudinal data (N = 312) with three-month intervals were used to examine the mediation models. The results indicated that: (1) Perfectionism was significantly associated with eating pathology, after controlling for relevant demographic factors. (2) Both body dissatisfaction and alexithymia fully mediated the relationship between perfectionism and eating pathology in the single mediation models. (3) Body dissatisfaction emerged as the stronger mediator in the relationship in the parallel mediation model. The results indicated that among Chinese college students, perfectionism had an indirect effect on eating pathology, through body dissatisfaction and alexithymia, and body dissatisfaction was shown to be a stronger pathway. The current findings highlighted the need to focus on college students with higher levels of perfectionism and mitigate the risk of eating pathology by improving body image and enhancing emotion awareness and expression.