Challenging perfectionistic cognitions and body talk : a preventive approach to reduce appearance-related harm in youth

Abstract

The present study sought to extend previous research by Henry (2022), which found that individuals higher in perfectionism did not benefit to the same extent from body talk interventions as those lower in perfectionism following body talk exposure. This study examined whether adding a perfectionism-focused component to a body talk intervention could reduce the detrimental effects of body talk exposure among youth higher in perfectionism. Participants included North American young women (N = 146) and men (N =67), aged 13 to 24, who were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a body talk intervention, an extended intervention (incorporating both body talk and perfectionism-focused components), or a control condition. While significant interactions were limited, women higher in worry about imperfection benefited most from the body talk intervention, reporting higher body satisfaction and lower negative affect compared to the control group. In contrast, no such effects were observed in men, and the extended intervention did not yield additional benefits, perhaps because a single session was insufficient to shift ingrained perfectionistic patterns. Across genders, perfectionism predispositions, particularly worry about imperfection and socially prescribed perfectionism, were consistently linked to poorer body image outcomes. Self-oriented perfectionism predicted negative outcomes in women only. These findings highlight gender differences in intervention effectiveness and emphasize the need for multi-session programs, as well as increased inclusion of men in body image research.