Traits of pathological narcissism and dysfunctional eating in women: The role of perfectionistic discrepancy
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Traits of pathological narcissism and dysfunctional eating in women: The role of perfectionistic discrepancy Rossella Di Pierro 1,2
&
Marco Di Sarno 1 & Ivan Gargiulo 3 & Fabio Madeddu 1,2
Accepted: 9 September 2020 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Dysfunctional eating attitudes and behaviors are very common among women. Recent findings suggest that these attitudes are linked to traits of pathological narcissism. However, mechanisms underlying this association need to be elucidated. We investigated the relationship between traits of pathological narcissism and dysfunctional eating attitudes and behaviors in women, testing whether perfectionistic tendencies mediate this association. The study involved a community-based sample of women (N = 306) who completed measures of grandiose and vulnerable narcissistic traits, attitudes of perfectionistic discrepancy and perfectionistic self-presentation, and dysfunctional eating attitudes and behaviors. Results show that vulnerable narcissistic traits are linked to dysfunctional eating attitudes and behaviors. Moreover, discrepancy between the actual self and the ideal self partially explains why women high in vulnerable narcissism engage in dysfunctional eating attitudes and behaviors. Grandiose narcissism was not uniquely associated with dysfunctional eating. The study suggests that the narcissistic need for being perfect, but not the narcissistic need for presenting oneself as perfect to others, promotes dysfunctional eating attitudes and behaviors in women. Keywords Pathological narcissism . Vulnerable narcissism . Dysfunctional eating . Perfectionistic discrepancy . Perfectionistic self-presentation
Introduction Dysfunctional eating attitudes and behaviors comprise chronic dieting, fasting, bingeing and food preoccupation. They refer to maladaptive eating-related attitudes and behaviors, which do not meet diagnostic criteria for a specific eating disorder (APA 2013). Dysfunctional eating attitudes and behaviors are quite common in the general population, especially among women. Over 50% of young women has a history of subclinical forms of eating disorders (APA workgroup for eating disorders, 2006), and there is now growing evidence that these attitudes and behaviors may occur at any life-stage (Lande et al. 2019). This phenomenon also represents a significant threat to women’s psychological health. In fact, suicidal idea-
* Rossella Di Pierro [email protected] 1
Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell’Ateneo Nuovo, 1, 20126 Milan, Italy
2
Personality Disorders Lab, Parma, Milan, Italy
3
Milan, Italy
tions and psychopathological symptoms (e.g., depressive symptoms) frequently occur in women showing disordered eating symptoms (Raynal et al. 2016). Therefore, understanding dysfunctional eating attitudes and behaviors in women can be critical. Empirical literature suggests a strong association between eating disorders (and its subclinical forms) and personality pathology (both perso
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