Graduate Program

Clinical Psychology

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Semester of Degree Completion

2000

Thesis Director

William Addison

Abstract

This study was designed to examine the relationship between neurotic perfectionism and symptoms of eating disorders in college-age women. There is minimal published research addressing this relationship, and only one study has been conducted in which eating-disordered subjects were compared to non-eating-disordered subjects. Sixty-five female participants completed survey materials including the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2) and the Neurotic Perfectionism Questionnaire (NPQ.) Participants were recruited from the Pavilion, the Eastern Illinois University Counseling Center, and from introductory psychology classes at Eastern Illinois University. Results suggest that there is a direct relationship between neurotic perfectionism and symptoms of eating disorders in college-age females. Participants with eating disorders and those who had disturbed eating behaviors (undiagnosed eating disorders) had stronger correlations between neurotic perfectionism and eating disorder symptomology than did the comparison group, and the eating-disordered and undiagnosed participants had higher NPQ scores than the comparison group. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

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