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Relationship between parental perfectionism and child’s disordered eating: Mediating role of parental distress and validation of the Arabic version of the eating disorders examination questionnaire-short-parent version (EDE-QS-P)
Eating disorders (ED) are increasingly recognized as a global health crisis, impacting both physical and mental health. Disordered eating behaviors in childhood can develop into more severe EDs if not addressed early. Research has shown a strong link between perfectionism, parental control, and EDs, with perfectionism playing a key role in the onset and persistence of ED symptoms. Early intervention during this critical phase is crucial to prevent the escalation to clinical EDs and promote healthier long-term outcomes for children. The purpose of this study by Kfoury et al. (2025) was to investigate the role that parental psychological anguish plays in mediating the link between children’s disordered eating and parental perfectionism. For this cross-sectional study, 502 Lebanese parents of children ages 6 to 11 (mean age 36.24 ± 8.29 years, 74.5% women) were selected from schools, community centers, and medical facilities. One parent per child completed questionnaires assessing disordered eating, psychological suffering, and parental perfectionism. Furthermore, the authors looked at disordered eating, parental distress, and parental perfectionism during their analysis. While evaluating the Arabic version of the EDE-QS-P, strong internal consistency, considerable convergent validity, and a unidimensional factor structure were seen. Compared to moms, fathers reported their children having greater levels of disordered eating. It was demonstrated that parental dissatisfaction acted as a mediator in the relationship between children’s disordered eating and parental perfectionism. More perfectionism on the side of the parents was linked to greater parental anxiety levels, while more disordered eating in the children was linked to higher parental melancholy levels. Additionally, higher parental perfectionism was directly associated with more disordered eating in children. This study effectively validated the EDE-QS-P’s Arabic version in Lebanon, demonstrating its validity and reliability for evaluating parent complaints of disordered eating in Arab cultures. Elevated parental perfectionism is associated with increased disordered eating in children, mediated by parental distress. According to these findings, medical professionals should be aware of parents’ psychological discomfort and perfectionism and take into account treatments like cognitive-behavioral therapy or stress-reduction strategies to lessen these aspects and lower the likelihood that children would develop eating disorders. [NPID: Eating disorder examination, Arabic, psychometric properties, perfectionism, eating disorders, disordered eating, psychological distress]
Year: 2025
