Relationship Between Obsessive Personality Traits and Eating Disorders

This study aimed to analyse the relationship between obsessive personality traits (perfectionism, desire for control, and cognitive flexibility) and the risk of eating disorders (EDs) in a young population. The objective was to identify which of these subdimensions were most significantly associated with eating-related symptomatology. A cross-sectional study was conducted with the participation of 890 students aged between 18 and 25 years, who completed validated self-report measures: the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) (Garner & Garfinkel, 1979), the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS) (Frost et al., 1990), the Desirability of Control Scale (Burger & Cooper, 1979), and the Personalised Psychological Flexibility Index (PPFI) (Kashdan et al., 2020). Regression analyses were conducted, controlling for sex and age. The results indicated significant associations of various subdimensions of perfectionism, cognitive flexibility, and desire for control with the risk of EDs. These findings also reinforce the need to consider obsessive personality profiles as relevant risk factors, which could facilitate early detection and more effective prevention in individuals with greater psychological vulnerability to eating disorders. Level of Evidence: 2 (observational, cross-sectional study).