Inflated responsibility and perfectionism in child and adolescent anorexia

ABSTRACT

Objective: The aim of the pilot study was to investigate the cognitive biases of inflated responsibility (IR) and perfectionism in children and adolescents with a diagnosis of Anorexia Nervosa (AN). An additional aim was to provide a preliminary investigation into whether there is an interaction effect with AN severity, measured by body mass index (BMI). Method: A cross-sectional multi-site pilot study using standardised questionnaires was conducted and 30 young people diagnosed with AN participated. Results: Children and adolescents with AN reported significantly higher levels of IR and perfectionism, compared to published normative non-clinical data. Self-orientated perfectionism (SOP) was associated with frequency of IR thoughts. There was also a significant interaction effect: young people who had a higher frequency of IR thoughts and SOP had lower BMIs. Discussion: Further independent replication of these results is needed. IR and perfectionism should be considered in the assessment and treatment of child and adolescent AN, both in individual and systemic interventions. This research also adds to the growing body of literature examining cognitive biases of obsessive–compulsive disorder in an AN population, which may offer some insight into the overlap between the two disorders.

KEYWORDS:

• Anorexia Nervosa
• perfectionism
• inflated responsibility
• obsessive–compulsive
• cognitive bias

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.