City Research Online

Abstract

Background: Studies have highlighted the importance of determining which psychosocial factors may contribute to difficulties in sexual functioning in women with anorexia nervosa. Sexual functioning is examined in relation to sexual distress in order to avoid labelling a person as having sexual functioning difficulties without considering whether or not they experience them as problematic, as recommended in the literature. As perfectionism can play a crucial role in anorexia nervosa and some studies have linked sexual perfectionism and sexual functioning in women, it was hypothesised that sexual perfectionism may mediate the relationship between overall perfectionism and sexual functioning in this clinical population.

Method: A quasi-experimental research design, based on an online questionnaire, was employed. The research material was shared on social media platforms, with the support of the City Health Care Partnership community interest company, Breathe Therapies, the Eating Disorder Association of Northern Ireland (NI) and NIWE Eating Distress Service (now Eating Distress North East), to recruit participants who were required to be over 18 years of age and either to have been diagnosed with anorexia nervosa by a healthcare professional or to have never been diagnosed with mental health difficulties. The latter would be members of the control group. The data for both groups (N=164 for the clinical group; N=214 for the control group) were analysed through the use of statistical path models to compare results.

Results: Sexual perfectionism was found to mediate the relationship between general perfectionism and sexual functioning in both groups and sexual distress was found also to mediate this indirect relationship. This was also the case regarding self-oriented sexual perfectionism, while partner-prescribed sexual perfectionism mediated only through sexual distress in both groups. Socially prescribed sexual perfectionism only played a mediating role in the context of sexual distress in the clinical group but mediated between perfectionism and sexual functioning alone in the control group. However, partner-oriented sexual perfectionism did not play any mediating role in either group.

Conclusions: The findings regarding partner-prescribed sexual perfectionism and socially prescribed sexual perfectionism, in that they were found to play mediating roles only in the context of sexual distress, suggest that the inability to control the perceptions of others may be distressing for the clinical group, as it may lead to fear of judgement and rejection, which are factors commonly associated with anorexia nervosa. That self-oriented sexual perfectionism was found also to mediate outside the context of sexual distress may be because some have greater control than others over meeting self-imposed standards as sexual partners. The role of sexual distress in relation to sexual perfectionism is thus highlighted.

Publication Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology Q Science > QH Natural history > QH301 Biology
Departments:	School of Health & Psychological Sciences > Psychology School of Health & Psychological Sciences > School of Health & Psychological Sciences Doctoral Theses Doctoral Theses

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