Perfectionistic self-presentation, body satisfaction and body appreciation in young women: Direct and indirect associations

Perfectionism (desire to be perfect) predicts negative body image in young women directly, and indirectly, via body appreciation. However, perfectionism goes beyond internal trait components and includes external expressional components, known as perfectionistic self-presentation. Trait perfectionism literature highlights the "what", i.e., internal beliefs about striving for flawlessness relate to negative body image. However, perfectionistic self-presentation focusses on the "how", by examining observable behaviours used to promote flawlessness. It is therefore important to understand the role of body appreciation in the relationship between negative body image and perfectionistic self-presentation. We conducted a cross-sectional, survey-based study and recruited a non-clinical sample of young women (university students and non-students, N = 173), to examine direct and indirect associations (via mediation analyses) between perfectionistic self-presentation, body satisfaction, and body appreciation. Perfectionistic self-presentation negatively predicted body satisfaction directly and indirectly, via body appreciation. Overall, these findings offer initial support for examining body appreciation, and its utility in understanding perfectionistic self-presentation and negative body image in young women.