Relationship between perfectionism, locus of control and disturbed eating habits

Lovrić, Ana. (2009). Relationship between perfectionism, locus of control and disturbed eating habits. Diploma Thesis. Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, Department of Psychology. [mentor Lauri Korajlija, Anita].

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Abstract

Eating disorders have become a significant topic both in the media and in the scientific literature in the last few decades, and there are biological, psychological and social factors that are reasons for their occurrence. The main objective of this study was to examine the relationship of positive and negative perfectionism, locus of control and disturbed eating habits, and to determine whether perfectionism and locus of control predict disturbed eating habits. Also, the objective was to examine the body mass index and presence of dietary risk behaviors and attitudes of the high school students and determine their contribution in explaining the variance of disturbed eating habits. The study participants were students of 1st and 2nd high school grades from Zagreb (N = 300). The Eating attitude test (EAT-26, Garner and Garfinkel, 1979.), Adaptive/maladaptive perfectionism scale for children (AMPS, Rice and Preusser, 2002), Externality scale (Bezinović, 1990) and Questionnaire of general data and food risk behaviors and attitudes were applied. Results show that disturbed eating habits and dietary risk behaviors and attitudes were represented in low level and a greater extent in girls than in boys. All dimensions of AMPS in girls and a Need for admiration in boys were positively associated with disturbed eating habits. Dimensions Sensitivity to mistakes and Need for admiration were positively associated with externality in both sexes, while in boys, Compulsiveness was the only dimension positively associated with externality. For boys, dimension of perfectionism Need for admiration and number of desired body changes were positive predictors of disturbed eating habits. For girls, body mass index was negative, and the dimensions of perfectionism Contingent self-esteem, the number of desired body changes and discrepancy of the current and desired body weight were positive predictors of disturbed eating habits.

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