Personality, perfectionism, and attitudes toward eating in parents of individuals with eating disorders.

OBJECTIVE: This study compares personality and eating-related traits in parents of probands with eating disorders, with age-band matched healthy normal controls.

METHOD: Data were abstracted from an international genetic study of anorexia nervosa. Information was available for the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS), the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI), and the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Comparisons were done by multivariate analysis of variance.

RESULTS: Mothers of probands showed elevated levels of perfectionism on the MPS and more concerns about weight and shape on the EDI compared with controls. Mothers who had daughters with diagnoses other than the restricting subtype of anorexia nervosa showed elevated levels of perfectionism on the MPS.

CONCLUSION: These data are compatible with the notion that some personality traits, such as perfectionism, and weight and shape concerns may cluster in families of probands with eating disorders.