Background: Perfectionism is considered a vulnerability factor for eating disorders. However, the role of perfectionism in binge eating needs clarification due to notably inconsistencies between studies. The purpose to this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the perfectionism-binge eating association.
Method: Systematic review was performed according to the PRISMA 2020 statement. Four databases (Web of Science, Scopus, PsycINFO and Psicodoc) were searched to identify studies published until September 2022. The literature search yielded 30 published articles (N = 9392) that provided 33 independent estimations of the correlation between the two variables.
Results: Random-effects meta-analysis revealed a small-to-moderate positive average effect size between general perfectionism and binge eating (r+ = .17) with a large heterogeneity. Perfectionistic Concerns showed a significant small-to-moderate relationship with binge eating (r+ = .27), whereas Perfectionistic Strivings presented a negligible relationship with binge eating (r+ = .07). Moderator analyses showed that the age, the type of the sample, the study design, and the tools for assessing both variables were statistically associated with the perfectionism-binge eating effect sizes.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that Perfectionism Concerns are closely associated with binge eating symptomatology. This relationship might be moderated by certain variables, especially by the clinical or non-clinical nature of the sample and the instrument employed to assess binge eating.
Keywords: Binge eating; Meta-analysis; Perfectionistic concerns; Perfectionistic strivings; Systematic review.
Perfectionism is a trait of personality comprising two facets, Perfectionistic Strivings (entails the desire to reach perfection and to pursue unrealistically high standards) and Perfectionistic Concerns (involves self-criticism, concerns over making mistakes, fears about social negative evaluation and lack of satisfaction with achievements). Perfectionist individuals have an increased risk for developing eating disorders. However, whether perfectionism or any of its facets is associated with binge eating (an episode of overeating together with a feeling of loss of control) is an unanswered question. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to clarify this question. Our results evidenced that overall perfectionism is associated with binge eating. It means that perfectionist people are more vulnerable to developing binge eating symptomatology, although Perfectionistic Concerns entails a higher risk in comparison with Perfectionistic Strivings. Our study also provides valuable information on the aspects that might explain the variations in the results of previous studies that have analyzed the perfectionism-binge eating association.
© 2023. The Author(s).