Attitudes et comportements alimentaires des athlètes québécoises pratiquant un sport esthétique à un haut niveau : caractéristiques personnelles et comparaison à un groupe de contrôle

La pratique d’un sport de type esthétique est aujourd’hui considérée par plusieurs (Sundgot-Borgen & Torstveit, 2004; Thompson & Sherman, 2010) comme un facteur de risque à l’adoption d’attitudes et de comportements alimentaires inappropriés à l’égard de l’alimentation et de l’image corporelle (ACIAI) et ultimement au développement d’un trouble des conduites alimentaires (TCA). Les études actuelles portant sur cette problématique rapportent toutefois des résultats contradictoires. De plus, certains aspects méthodologiques associés notamment à l’hétérogénéité des échantillons limitent la portée interprétative de ces résultats. Afin de pallier les limites actuelles des écrits empiriques, cette thèse a pour but de tracer le portrait de la problématique des désordres alimentaires chez les jeunes athlètes québécoises de haut niveau en sport esthétique. Pour ce faire, un échantillon homogène de 145 adolescentes âgées de 12 à 19 ans a été constitué soit 52 athlètes de haut niveau et 93 non-athlètes. Les sports représentés sont le patinage artistique, la nage synchronisée et le ballet. À partir de cet échantillon, deux études sont réalisées. L’objectif de la première étude est de comparer l’intensité des ACIAI et la prévalence des TCA dans les deux groupes à l’aide de deux questionnaires soit le Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) et le Eating Disorder Inventory-3 (EDI-3). Les résultats obtenus suggèrent qu’il n’y a pas de différence significative entre les athlètes et les non-athlètes de l’échantillon en ce qui a trait à l’intensité des ACIAI et à la prévalence des TCA. La deuxième étude est constituée de deux objectifs. Tout d’abord, comparer les deux groupes relativement aux caractéristiques personnelles suivantes : l’insatisfaction de l’image corporelle (IIC), le sentiment d’efficacité personnelle envers l’alimentation normative (SEP-AN) et l’image corporelle (SEP-IC), le perfectionnisme (P), l’ascétisme (As), la dysrégulation émotionnelle (DÉ) et le déficit intéroceptif (DI). De nature plus exploratoire, le second objectif de cette étude est de décrire et de comparer les caractéristiques personnelles qui sont associées aux ACIAI dans chacun des groupes. Afin de réaliser ces objectifs, deux autres questionnaires ont été utilisés soit le Eating Disorder Recovery Self-efficacy Questionnaire-f (EDRSQ-f) et le Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ). En somme, les analyses indiquent que les athlètes de l’échantillon présentent des niveaux plus faibles de SEP-AN et de DÉ. Ce faisant, elles auraient moins confiance en leur capacité à maintenir une alimentation normative, mais réguleraient plus efficacement leurs émotions que les adolescentes non-athlètes. Une fois l’âge et l’indice de masse corporelle contrôlés, les résultats démontrent également que le SEP-AN et l’IIC contribuent à prédire dans chaque groupe les ACIAI tels que mesurés par la recherche de minceur. Le SEP-AN a aussi été associé dans les deux groupes à l’intensité des symptômes boulimiques. Les modèles obtenus diffèrent cependant quant aux variables prédictives principales. Chez les athlètes de l’échantillon, l’intensité des conduites boulimiques est associée à la DÉ alors qu’elle est davantage liée au DI chez les adolescentes non sportives. Enfin, en plus de discuter et de comparer l’ensemble de ces résultats aux autres travaux disponibles, les apports distinctifs de la thèse et les principales limites des études sont abordés. Des pistes sont également suggérées afin d’orienter les recherches futures et des implications cliniques sont proposées.

The roles of persistence and perseveration in psychopathology

Two constructs were hypothesized to be of importance in psychological disorders: persistence (the ability to keep going to reach a goal, even when the task is difficult or drawn out) and perseveration (the tendency to continue a behavior, even when it ceases to be effective or rewarding). These are contrasted with perfectionism (having high standards for oneself or others). A measure was developed to address these constructs (the Persistence, Perseveration and Perfectionism Questionnaire; PPPQ). The PPPQ was administered to 325 nonclinical participants, alongside a measure of psychological disturbance. Factor analysis resulted in a 22-item version of the measure, consisting of subscales with good psychometric properties corresponding to the 3 theoretical constructs. Persistence was associated with lower levels of psychopathology, whereas perseveration was associated with higher levels of psychopathology. Perfectionism was weakly associated with psychopathology. Further work is needed to develop these constructs with clinical groups, but the findings support the hypothesis that persistence is an adaptive construct whereas perseveration is maladaptive.

Cognitive appraisals in young people with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Background: A number of cognitive appraisals have been identified as important in the manifestation of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in adults. There have, however, been few attempts to explore these cognitive appraisals in clinical groups of young people. Method: This study compared young people aged between 11 and 18 years with OCD (N ¼ 28), young people with other types of anxiety disorders (N ¼ 28) and a non-clinical group (N ¼ 62) on three questionnaire measures of cognitive appraisals. These were inflated responsibility (Responsibility Attitude Scale; Salkovskis et al., 2000), thought–action fusion – likelihood other (Thought–Action Fusion Scale; Shafran, Thordarson & Rachman, 1996) and perfectionism (Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale; Frost, Marten, Luhart & Rosenblate, 1990). Results: The young people with OCD had significantly higher scores on inflated responsibility, thought–action fusion – (likelihood other), and one aspect of perfectionism, concern over mistakes, than the other groups. In addition, inflated responsibility independently predicted OCD symptom severity. Conclusions: The results generally support a downward extension of the cognitive appraisals held by adults with OCD to young people with the disorder. Some of the results, however, raise issues about potential developmental shifts in cognitive appraisals. The findings are discussed in relation to implications for the cognitive model of OCD and cognitive behavioural therapy for young people with OCD. Keywords: Cognitive models, inflated responsibility, obsessive-compulsive disorder, perfectionism, thought–action fusion. Abbreviations: ADIS-C: Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for Children; ADIS-P: Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for Parents; E/RP: Exposure/Response Prevention; LOI-CV: Leyton Obsessional Inventory – Child Version; MPS: Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale; OCD: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder; RAS: Responsibility Attitude Scale; TAF-LO: Thought–Action Fusion – (Likelihood Other).

Dissonant Voices : Philosophy, Children's Literature, and Perfectionist Education

Dissonant Voices has a twofold aspiration. First, it is a philosophical treatment of everyday pedagogical interactions between children and their elders, between teachers and pupils. More specifically it is an exploration of the possibilities to go on with dissonant voices that interrupt established practices – our attunement – in behaviour, practice and thinking. Voices that are incomprehensible or expressions that are unacceptable, morally or otherwise. The text works on a tension between two inclinations: an inclination to wave off, discourage, or change an expression that is unacceptable or unintelligible; and an inclination to be tolerant and accept the dissonant expression as doing something worthwhile, but different. The second aspiration is a philosophical engagement with children’s literature. Reading children’s literature becomes a form of philosophising, a way to explore the complexity of a range of philosophical issues. This turn to literature marks a dissatisfaction with what philosophy can accomplish through argumentation and what philosophy can do with a particular and limited set of concepts for a subject, such as ethics. It is a way to go beyond philosophising as the founding of theories that justify particular responses. The philosophy of dissonance and children’s literature becomes a way to destabilise justifications of our established practices and ways of interacting. The philosophical investigations of dissonance are meant to make manifest the possibilities and risks of engaging in interactions beyond established agreement or attunements. Thinking of the dissonant voice as an expression beyond established practices calls for improvisation. Such improvisations become a perfectionist education where both the child and the elder, the teacher and the student, search for as yet unattained forms of interaction and take responsibility for every word and action of the interaction. The investigation goes through a number of picture books and novels for children such as Harry Potter, Garmann’s Summer, and books by Shaun Tan, Astrid Lindgren and Dr. Seuss as well narratives by J.R.R. Tolkien, Henrik Ibsen, Jane Austen and Henry David Thoreau. These works of fiction are read in conversation with philosophical works of, and inspired by, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Stanley Cavell, their moral perfectionism and ordinary language philosophy.

Perfectionist Philosophy as a (an Untaken) Way of Life

I am honored to respond to Paul Guyer’s elaboration on the role of examples of perfectionism in Cavell’s and Kant’s philosophies. Guyer’s appeal to Kant’s notion of freedom opens the way for suggestive readings of Cavell’s work on moral perfectionism but also, as I will show, for controversy. There are salient aspects of both Kant’s and Cavell’s philosophy that are crucial to understanding perfectionism and, let me call it, perfectionist education, that I wish to emphasize in response to Guyer. In responding to Guyer’s text, I shall do three things. First, I shall explain why I think it is misleading to speak of Cavell’s view that moral perfectionism is involved in a struggle to make oneself intelligible to oneself and others in terms of necessary and sufficient conditions for moral perfection. Rather, I will suggest that the constant work on oneself that is at the core of Cavell’s moral perfectionism is a constant work for intelligibility. Second, I shall recall a feature of Cavell’s perfectionism that Guyer does not explicitly speak of: the idea that perfectionism is a theme, “outlook or dimension of thought embodied and developed in a set of texts.” Or, as Cavell goes on to say, “there is a place in mind where good books are in conversation. … [W]hat they often talk about … is how they can be, or sound, so much better than the people that compose them.” This involves what I would call a perfectionist conception of the history of philosophy and the kinds of texts we take to belong to such history. Third, I shall sketch out how the struggle for intelligibility and a perfectionist view of engagement with texts and philosophy can lead to a view of philosophy as a form of education in itself. In concluding these three “criticisms,” I reach a position that I think is quite close to Guyer’s, but with a slightly shifted emphasis on what it means to read Kant and Cavell from a perfectionist point of view.

Aspectos cognitivos do transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo

This paper describes the most important cognitive models for obsessive-compulsive disorder, i. e., the inference processes (thoughts and believes) underlying the patients'feelings and behaviors. The major models formulated in this area emphasize the following aspects: exacerbated perception of danger (risk evaluation), overimportance of intrusive thoughts, excessive sense of personal responsibility (blame for harm self and others), perfectionism, psychological fusion of thought and action, and illogical inference processes involving confusion between imagination and reality. The knowledge of cognitive aspects brings new perspectives for the psychological treatment of this disorder.

Obsessed With Work: A multi-causal and multi-rater approach to workaholism

Workaholism is defined as the combination of two underlying dimensions: working excessively and working compulsively. The present thesis aims at achieving the following purposes: 1) to test whether the interaction between environmental and personal antecedents may enhance workaholism; 2) to develop a questionnaire aimed to assess overwork climate in the workplace; 3) to contrast focal employees’ and coworkers’ perceptions of employees’ workaholism and engagement. Concerning the first purpose, the interaction between overwork climate and person characteristics (achievement motivation, perfectionism, conscientiousness, self-efficacy) was explored on a sample of 333 Dutch employees. The results of moderated regression analyses showed that the interaction between overwork climate and person characteristics is related to workaholism. The second purpose was pursued with two interrelated studies. In Study 1 the Overwork Climate Scale (OWCS) was developed and tested using a principal component analysis (N = 395) and a confirmatory factor analysis (N = 396). Two overwork climate dimensions were distinguished, overwork endorsement and lacking overwork rewards. In Study 2 the total sample (N = 791) was used to explore the association of overwork climate with two types of working hard: work engagement and workaholism. Lacking overwork rewards was negatively associated with engagement, whereas overwork endorsement showed a positive association with workaholism. Concerning the third purpose, using a sample of 73 dyads composed by focal employees and their coworkers, a multitrait-multimethod matrix and a correlated trait-correlated method model, i.e. the CT-C(M–1) model, were examined. Our results showed a considerable agreement between raters on focal employees' engagement and workaholism. In contrast, we observed a significant difference concerning the cognitive dimension of workaholism, working compulsively. Moreover, we provided further evidence for the discriminant validity between engagement and workaholism. Overall, workaholism appears as a negative work-related state that could be better explained by assuming a multi-causal and multi-rater approach.

Personality Factors of Women Participating in College Athletics

There exists some discrepancy considering the overall health and well-being of young women in sports and performance domains. The current study aimed to examine self-reported levels of perfectionism, body esteem, and social support among college women participating in organized sports and dance. A total of 103 participants completeda series of questionnaires intended to capture these major variables of interest. Results upheld one of three major hypotheses, specifically in regards to between-group differences for lean and non-lean sport athletes. One of the most important findings wasthat among lean sport participants the relationship between body esteem and social support was statistically significant and positive, and among non-lean sport participants this same relationship was nonsignificant and negative. The applied implication of thisfinal finding is discussed, with particular emphasis on potential strategies for upholding the positive relationship between body esteem and social support among lean sport athletes.

Psychological Flow In A Physical Task

Psychological flow describes the mental phenomenon that takes place during intense engagement with a task (Jackson & Csikszentmihalyi, 1999). Its components have been operationalized through the development of the Flow State Scale (Jackson & Eklund, 2002). As feedback has been shown to be a critical element for the facilitation of a flow experience (Moneta, 2012), the current study sought to investigate the effect of differential feedback on psychological flow outcomes using the FSS as the dependent variable. The feedback manipulation featured three experimental groups; control, positive, and negative. This study also accounted for the personality trait of perfectionism as a variable influencing the experience of flow. Following the completion of a personality measure, participants engaged in a bolt threading task for ten minutes, then reported the time they perceived to have spent on the task as well as the outcome of their flow experience. The feedback conditions were created by the use of different size containers for participants to place their nut and bolt pairs in, and thus feedback was inherent in the task. The study found that feedback played an important role in the outcome of a flow experience. The positive feedback condition was more conducive to flow than the negative feedback condition. Furthermore, those in the positive condition outperformed those in the negative condition during the ten minutes. Goal clarity and feedback clarity differed significantly across feedback manipulations. Perfectionism¿s impact on the outcome of flow was more pronounced in the negative feedback condition than the positive or control conditions. In settings where engagement and performance are imperative, ample attention should be given to the feedback processes present in the situation.

Occupational role stress is associated with higher cortisol reactivity to acute stress

We investigated whether occupational role stress is associated with differential levels of the stress hormone cortisol in response to acute psychosocial stress. Forty-three medication-free nonsmoking men aged between 22 and 65 years (mean ± SEM: 44.5 ± 2) underwent an acute standardized psychosocial stress task combining public speaking and mental arithmetic in front of an audience. We assessed occupational role stress in terms of role conflict and role ambiguity (combined into a measure of role uncertainty) as well as further work characteristics and psychological control variables including time pressure, overcommitment, perfectionism, and stress appraisal. Moreover, we repeatedly measured salivary cortisol and blood pressure levels before and after stress exposure, and several times up to 60 min thereafter. Higher role uncertainty was associated with a more pronounced cortisol stress reactivity (p = .016), even when controlling for the full set of potential confounders (p < .001). Blood pressure stress reactivity was not associated with role uncertainty. Our findings suggest that occupational role stress in terms of role uncertainty acts as a background stressor that is associated with increased HPA-axis reactivity to acute stress. This finding may represent a potential mechanism regarding how occupational role stress may precipitate adverse health outcomes.

Are suicide attempters wired differently?

Objective: Limited research exists on internal risk processes in suicide attempters and factors that distinguish them from non-suicidal, depressive individuals. In this qualitative study, we investigated Plans, motives, and underlying self-regulatory processes of the two groups and conducted a comparative analysis. Methods: We analyzed narrative interviews of 17 suicide attempters and intake interviews of 17 non-suicidal, depressive patients using Plan Analysis. Then, we developed a prototypical Plan structure for both groups. Results: Suicidal behavior serves various Plans only found in suicide attempters. Plans of this group are especially related to social perfectionism and withdrawal in order to protect their self-esteem. Depressive patients employ several interpersonal control and coping strategies, which might help prevent suicidal behavior. Conclusion: The prototypical Plan structure of suicide attempters may be a valuable tool for clinicians to detect critical Plans and motives in their interaction with patients, which are related to suicide risk.

Perfeccionismo socialmente prescrito como predictor del alto rechazo a la escuela

El creciente interés en el estudio del comportamiento de rechazo a la escuela se debe a las consecuencias negativas asociadas a esta problemática. Conocer aquellas variables psicoeducativas que predicen esta conducta resulta de interés para la comunidad científica en la actualidad. El objetivo de esta investigación fue analizar la capacidad predictiva el Perfeccionismo Socialmente Prescrito sobre las altas puntuaciones en rechazo escolar. En este estudio participaron 537 estudiantes españoles entre 8 y 12 años. Los instrumentos utilizados fueron la School Refusal Assessment Scale Revised for Children (SRAS-R-C), para medir los cuatro factores que subyacen al comportamiento de rechazo a la escuela (I. Evitar la Afectividad Negativa; II. Escapar de la Aversión Social o Evaluación; III. Búsqueda de la Atención de otras Personas Significativas; IV. Búsqueda de Refuerzos Tangibles Fuera del Ámbito Escolar), y la Child and Adolescent Perfectionism Scale (CAPS), para evaluar la subescala de Perfeccionismo Socialmente Prescrito. A partir de los resultados obtenidos se confirma que la subescala de perfeccionismo evaluada actúa como un predictor positivo de altas puntuaciones en rechazo escolar para los factores II y III de la SRAS-R-C. Estos resultados deben ser valorados por psicólogos escolares y especialistas al evaluar la problemática del rechazo escolar siendo necesario proponer estrategias de prevención e intervención.

Personalidad e infancia. Diferencias en función de los niveles de perfeccionismo auto-orientado

El objetivo de este trabajo consistió en conocer si existen diferencias en los cinco grandes rasgos de la personalidad (Extraversión, Cordialidad, Neuroticismo, Apertura a la experiencia y Conciencia) entre los participantes con altos y bajos niveles de Perfeccionismo Auto-Orientado (PAO) en población infantil española. Se empleó una muestra compuesta por 483 alumnos entre 8 y 11 años, así como la subescala PAO de la Child and Adolescent Perfectionism Scale (CAPS) y el Cuestionario Big Five de personalidad para niños (BFQ-N) que evalúa los cinco grandes rasgos de la personalidad. Los resultados de la prueba t de Student mostraron que los participantes con altos niveles de PAO obtuvieron medias significativamente más altas en Extraversión, Apertura a la experiencia y Cordialidad que sus iguales con bajos niveles de PAO. Contrariamente, no se observaron diferencias significativas entre ambos grupos en lo que respecta a las puntuaciones medias en Neuroticismo y Conciencia. Los resultados no coinciden con las evidencias empíricas previas, sugiriendo que la relación que se establece entre el PAO y la personalidad puede variar en función de la edad o la cultura.

Perfeccionismo socialmente prescrito y afecto en la infancia

El objetivo de este estudio consistió en analizar la capacidad predictiva del afecto sobre las altas puntuaciones en Perfeccionismo Socialmente Prescrito (PSP) durante la infancia. Se reclutó una muestra de 462 alumnos españoles de Educación Primaria entre 8 y 11 años, de los cuales un 50.08% era varones. Se empleó la Child and Adolescent Perfectionism Scale (CAPS) y la 10-Item Positive and Negative Affect Schedule for Children (10-item PANAS-C) para evaluar, respectivamente, la dimensión PSP y el afecto positivo y negativo. Los resultados del análisis de regresión logística revelaron que tanto el Afecto Positivo como el Afecto Negativo predijeron significativamente altos niveles de PSP, con valores de OR de 1.03 y 1.10. Los resultados apoyaron parcialmente las hipótesis formuladas, indicando que durante la infancia, al contrario que durante la adultez, el PSP se asocia significativamente y de forma positiva con ambos tipos de afecto. No obstante, se evidenció que esta asociación era mucho más estrecha en el caso del Afecto Negativo.

Perfeccionismo durante la infancia y la adolescencia. Análisis bibliométrico y temático (2004-2014)

El perfeccionismo es un rasgo de la personalidad caracterizado por la imposición a uno mismo de unas normas de desempeño poco realistas, la motivación por ser perfeccionista y la percepción del entorno como demasiado exigente y crítico. Este estudio tuvo por objeto analizar la literatura científica sobre perfeccionismo en niños y adolescentes, publicada en 4 bases de datos (Web of Science, Scopus, PsycINFO y Education Resources Information Center), entre el año 2004 y el 2014. Se obtuvieron 325 documentos que fueron analizados con base en distintos indicadores bibliométricos, como el análisis de la producción temporal, las revistas y autores más productivos sobre el tópico y el índice de coautoría, así como un análisis y discusión de las características de la población, los principales instrumentos empleados y las temáticas identificadas. Se halló una tendencia a elaborar los trabajos en colaboración y un número considerable de grandes productores (Gordon L. Flett, Paul L. Hewitt, Andrew P. Hill y Bart Soenens). Destacaron la Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale y la Child and Adolescent Perfectionism Scale como los 2 instrumentos más empleados para evaluar el perfeccionismo en niños y adolescentes. Igualmente, prevalecieron los estudios realizados en adolescentes frente a aquellos con participantes de población infantil. Se observó que la mayor parte de los documentos analizados se centraron en analizar la relación entre el perfeccionismo y la psicopatología. Por último, se discuten las temáticas identificadas, las limitaciones encontradas y los aspectos consolidados, sirviendo como referencia para la realización de futuros estudios sobre el campo del perfeccionismo durante la infancia y la adolescencia.