Impact Of Perfectionism On The Risk Of The Female Athlete Triad In Collegiate Athletes

The female athlete triad is a metabolic syndrome affecting physically active females and little is known about the relationship between psychological factors and triad risk. Perfectionism is a personality disposition focused on flawlessness and achieving high standards. When perfectionistic strivings become maladaptive, they can cause athletes to develop an obsession over fitness, disordered eating, and overtraining, which could ultimately lead to triad development. PURPOSE: To investigate the risk of triad development and its relationship with perfectionistic tendencies in female collegiate athletes. PARTICIPANTS: Female Division 1 college athletes (N=25; mean BMI=21.8±2.9 kg/m2). METHODS: Participants reported on demographic variables, medical history, eating attitudes and behaviors, and perfectionistic tendencies. Participants then received a DEXA scan for body composition and bone density measurements. Risk was quantified using the Female Athlete Triad Cumulative Risk Assessment Tool (CRA). GraphPad Prism 9.5.1 was used to generate Pearson’s R correlation coefficients and a correlation matrix. RESULTS: The CRA categorized 60% of participants as moderate risk and 8% as high risk of developing the triad. There were strong, positive correlations between CRA scores and total perfectionism (r=0.58, p=< .001). Two maladaptive dimensions of perfectionism, Doubts About Actions and Concern Over Mistakes, also had strong, positive correlations with CRA score (r=0.65 and r=0.75, respectively, p=< .001). CONCLUSIONS: The current study not only reported a high prevalence of triad risk in this population, but indicated that female athletes with greater perfectionistic tendencies have a greater risk for triad development, especially when those tendencies manifest in maladaptive dimensions. These findings lead to a greater understanding of the association between perfectionism and risk of female athlete triad development.