Influence of perfectionism on variables associated to eating disorders in dance students

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to examine the influence of the main two elements of perfectionism (CM, concern over mistakes and PS, personal standards) on eating disorders risk factors in dancers. Based on the literature, we tested the role of CM and PS over diet and mood related symptoms, and the function of performance anxiety and body dissatisfaction as the main mediators in the model. Two hundreds and eighty one female dancers (M = 15.28; SDage = 2.32) from two Spanish dance conservatoires participated in this study. Structural modelling was used to test the hypothesized model. Results confirm the different influence of PS and CM on dieting and the presence of symptoms of mood disorders and performance anxiety just in the debilitative perfectionism path. In conclusion, the presence of CM might be key to differentiate dancers at higher risk of eating disorder due to its association with the variables traditionally associated to this.