Mediation Effect of Anxiety on the Relationship between Perfectionism and Disordered Eating Among Girls: Implication for Health Promotion

The prevalence of eating disorders have been increasing in recent decades; hence, the search for specific psychological variables that may help to identify the cause of this disorder is of great importance. The current study examined the mediating role of the anxiety on the relationship between perfectionism and disordered eating among female student. This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014 on a sample of 264 female students at Allameh Tabataba’i University, according to Morgan and cluster sampling selected. Afterward, participants completed the questionnaires of anxiety, perfectionism and eating attitudes test. The data were analyzed by SPSS software using coefficient correlation and stepwise regression. Statistical differences were considered significant at (P<0.01). The results showed that there was internal significant correlation among anxiety, perfectionism and disordered eating (p<0.01). Also, regression analysis indicated that anxiety significantly mediated the relationship between perfectionism and disordered eating (p<0.01). The role of anxiety variable is important in prevention and therapy programs for perfectionism in eating disorders.