Perfectionism and disordered eating in South Asian women in the United States

Introduction: Although perfectionism is a well-established risk factor for disordered eating, most research in this area has focused on White women. This study examined how two dimensions of perfectionism—perfectionistic concerns and perfectionistic strivings—relate to binge eating and restrictive eating among South Asian women living in the United States, and tested body dissatisfaction and self-esteem as potential moderators. Method: Participants were 187 cisgender women of South Asian descent (ages 18-57; M = 29.36 years) living in the US. Recruitment occurred primarily through outreach to South Asian university and community organizations, with participants completing an online survey on demographics, perfectionism, body dissatisfaction, self-esteem, and disordered eating. Results: Both perfectionistic dimensions were significantly positively associated with restrictive eating, but only perfectionistic concerns were associated with binge eating. Only perfectionistic concerns accounted for unique variance in both binge eating and restrictive eating. Moderation analyses revealed that body dissatisfaction and self-esteem interacted significantly with both perfectionism dimensions to identify levels of restrictive eating, such that the combination of high perfectionism (either dimension) and high body dissatisfaction or low self-esteem was associated with the highest levels of restrictive eating. No significant interactions emerged for binge eating. Discussion: These findings highlight a role for perfectionism in disordered eating among South Asian women in the US and support body dissatisfaction and self-esteem as moderators of the relationship between perfectionism and restrictive eating. Results underscore the need to test models in diverse groups and to identify interactive models of binge eating in South Asian populations.