Comparison of Perfectionism and Related Positive-Negative Dimension in People With High Traits on Obsessive Compulsive and Eating Disorder Characteristics

BACKGROUND Psychopathological perfectionism is often correlated with obsessive compulsive eating disorders. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to investigate perfectionism in people with high traits of obsessive compulsive and eating disorder characteristics. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study was an expo fact research. The statistical population of the research comprised of male and female undergraduate students at Tabriz and Sarab branches of Payam- e- Noor University, Tabriz Islamic University and Azarbaijan Shahid Madani university in the academic year 2012 - 2013. A group of 640 university students, using the stratified random sampling method were screened by the obsessive compulsive inventory and the eating attitude test, then a group of 143 participants with high obsessive compulsive traits with another 137 participants with high eating disorder characteristics were selected and assessed with the Perfectionism Inventory. Data were analyzed using one way analysis of variance. RESULTS The results showed that perfectionism and related negative dimension are more commonly found in people with high obsessive-compulsive traits than eating disorder characteristics (P < 0.02). The results showed the highest contribution of maladaptive perfectionism in predicting obsessive-compulsive features and pathological eating attitude. Also, no difference was found between the two groups in terms of negative perfectionism. CONCLUSIONS The greater association of perfectionism with symptoms of obsessive-compulsive is consistent with its phenomenological feature. Fear of failure may motivate the behavioral components of perfectionism that aim to focus on careful checking, reassurance seeking and excessive consideration before making a decision.