Compulsive exercise as a mediator between clinical perfectionism and eating pathology.

The aim of this study was to examine whether compulsive exercise mediates the relationship between clinical perfectionism and eating pathology, based on the cognitive behavioral model of compulsive exercise. Participants were 368 adults who participated regularly in sport/exercise and completed onli...

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Main Authors: Egan, Sarah, Bodill, Kate, Watson, H., Valentine, Emily, Shu, C., Hagger, Martin
Format: Journal Article
Published: Pergamon 2016
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/5683
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author Egan, Sarah
Bodill, Kate
Watson, H.
Valentine, Emily
Shu, C.
Hagger, Martin
author_facet Egan, Sarah
Bodill, Kate
Watson, H.
Valentine, Emily
Shu, C.
Hagger, Martin
author_sort Egan, Sarah
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The aim of this study was to examine whether compulsive exercise mediates the relationship between clinical perfectionism and eating pathology, based on the cognitive behavioral model of compulsive exercise. Participants were 368 adults who participated regularly in sport/exercise and completed online measures of perfectionism, compulsive exercise and eating disorders. In support of the well-established link between perfectionism and eating disorders, clinical perfectionism predicted eating pathology both directly and indirectly mediated by compulsive exercise. In addition, there were also direct effects of clinical perfectionism on the avoidance/rule-driven behavior, weight control, and mood improvement subscales of the Compulsive Exercise Test (CET). There was a direct effect of the CET weight control subscale on eating pathology and a negative direct effect of the CET subscale mood improvement on eating pathology. Findings lend support to the cognitive behavioral model of compulsive exercise in which clinical perfectionism is conceptualized as related to eating disorders directly and indirectly through the mediation of compulsive exercise. Compulsive exercise was also found to have a direct effect on eating disorders. Compulsive exercise may be a symptom of eating pathology, rather than an antecedent, however causal inferences could not be established given the correlational design. Longitudinal research using cross-lagged panel designs to examine a bidirectional relationship between compulsive exercise and eating disorders is needed.
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publishDate 2016
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-56832017-09-13T14:46:24Z Compulsive exercise as a mediator between clinical perfectionism and eating pathology. Egan, Sarah Bodill, Kate Watson, H. Valentine, Emily Shu, C. Hagger, Martin The aim of this study was to examine whether compulsive exercise mediates the relationship between clinical perfectionism and eating pathology, based on the cognitive behavioral model of compulsive exercise. Participants were 368 adults who participated regularly in sport/exercise and completed online measures of perfectionism, compulsive exercise and eating disorders. In support of the well-established link between perfectionism and eating disorders, clinical perfectionism predicted eating pathology both directly and indirectly mediated by compulsive exercise. In addition, there were also direct effects of clinical perfectionism on the avoidance/rule-driven behavior, weight control, and mood improvement subscales of the Compulsive Exercise Test (CET). There was a direct effect of the CET weight control subscale on eating pathology and a negative direct effect of the CET subscale mood improvement on eating pathology. Findings lend support to the cognitive behavioral model of compulsive exercise in which clinical perfectionism is conceptualized as related to eating disorders directly and indirectly through the mediation of compulsive exercise. Compulsive exercise was also found to have a direct effect on eating disorders. Compulsive exercise may be a symptom of eating pathology, rather than an antecedent, however causal inferences could not be established given the correlational design. Longitudinal research using cross-lagged panel designs to examine a bidirectional relationship between compulsive exercise and eating disorders is needed. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/5683 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2016.11.001 Pergamon restricted
spellingShingle Egan, Sarah
Bodill, Kate
Watson, H.
Valentine, Emily
Shu, C.
Hagger, Martin
Compulsive exercise as a mediator between clinical perfectionism and eating pathology.
title Compulsive exercise as a mediator between clinical perfectionism and eating pathology.
title_full Compulsive exercise as a mediator between clinical perfectionism and eating pathology.
title_fullStr Compulsive exercise as a mediator between clinical perfectionism and eating pathology.
title_full_unstemmed Compulsive exercise as a mediator between clinical perfectionism and eating pathology.
title_short Compulsive exercise as a mediator between clinical perfectionism and eating pathology.
title_sort compulsive exercise as a mediator between clinical perfectionism and eating pathology.
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/5683