Abstract
Numerous studies have identified the relationship between perfectionism and body image. However, the relationships between perfectionistic tendencies and body image instability are not yet well understood in different ethnic/racial groups. Building on recent evidence indicating that body image instability is associated with maladaptive psychological symptoms among young adult women, the present study tested a hypothesized hierarchical regression model in which facets of perfectionism in the general and physical appearance domains were examined as predictors of body image instability among Asian American (n = 181) and European American (n = 173) young adult women. For both ethnic/racial groups, the models by which facets of perfectionism in the general and physical appearance domains predicted body image instability revealed a similar pattern. Specifically, doubts about actions perfectionism in the general domain and worries about imperfection in the physical appearance domain predicted greater body image instability across both Asian American and European American young adult women. The present findings clarify facets of perfectionism in the general and physical appearance domains that predict body image instability among Asian American and European American women and point to how perfectionistic doubts about actions and worries about not having the perfect appearance are centrally implicated in this relationship.
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Data availability
The data that support the findings of this study are available upon reasonable request from the authors. At the time of consent, participants were assured that their information would remain private, and we did not inform participants of any possibility their data would be publicly available, to which they were unable to consent/dissent to. Due to privacy and ethical concerns, supporting data are not publicly available, but are available upon reasonable request to the authors.
Notes
Notably, due to a technical error, one item of the PAPS-WAI subscale (i.e., “I wish I could completely change my appearance”) was omitted from the survey. However, the PAPS-WAI still demonstrated good internal consistency scores for Asian American and European American women (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.92 and 0.93 respectively).
Partial correlations controlling for age and BMI are provided in the supplemental material (Table S1).
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Kwon, M., Li, M. & Chang, O.D. Examining the roles of dimensions of perfectionism in predicting body image instability: Comparing Asian American and European American women. Curr Psychol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-05866-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-05866-0