Perfectionism, self-compassion, intuitive eating and health-related quality of life in kidney transplant recipients

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects ~850 million people globally, imposing significant health burdens. This study was the first to examine how perfectionism, via self-compassion, stress and coping, predicts health outcomes such as health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and intuitive eating for kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). Structural equation modelling was used to examine these relationships in KTRs ( n = 354, x̄ age = 53.10 years, SD = 12.46 years, 74.6% female) and a non-CKD comparison group ( n = 400, x̄ age = 39.39 years, SD = 12.91 years, 84.3% female). Results showed that ‘maladaptive’ perfectionism predicted lower self-compassion, and lower levels of intuitive eating and HRQoL via reduced coping and higher stress. However, self-compassion was found to mediate this effect, demonstrating that higher levels of this positive self-attitude could help to ameliorate the negative associations between maladaptive perfectionism and health outcomes. These findings highlight the potential value of perfectionism screening in transplant services to identify patients at risk of poor psychosocial adjustment post-transplant and guide appropriate interventions.