Perfectionism and eating-related symptoms in young children: a systematic review

Perfectionism is a multidimensional personality trait that encom- passes two higher-order dimensions: Perfectionistic Strivings (i.e., the strive to achieve exceedingly high standards) and Perfectionistic Concerns (i.e., negative self-evaluation and fear of failure). Both dimensions are related to eating disorders (EDs) in clinical and community adults. The association between perfectionism and EDs has also been observed in children but, to date, no review has summarized the relevant empirical findings with children under the age of 14. English-language studies published up to 2019 were searched in online databases (PsycINFO, Medline, PsycArticle) by using the pertinent keywords. Eligible publica- tions reported at least one relationship between perfectionism and eating-related symptoms in children. Data were examined using the Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies. For the 14 studies that were included, 11 studies provided evidence supporting the relationship between perfectionism and ED outcomes, with the majority adopting a unidimensional approach for perfectionism assessment. Among the studies that used multidimensional assessment of perfection- ism, the majority supported the involvement of perfectionistic strivings. Implications of results for children are discussed.