Annette S. Kluck

Background Scholarly investigation into orthorexia nervosa is relatively new, leading several scholars to develop new measures to adequately assess the concerns thought to underlie this condition. A promising new measure of orthorexia, the Teruel Orthorexia Scale (TOS), was developed using a Spanish sample. Purpose This study was the first to investigate the psychometric properties of the English version of the TOS in a U.S. sample. This study also examined the long-hypothesized relationship between orthorexia and health anxiety. Methods We used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to evaluate the factor structure of the TOS. We also used correlational methods to test theorized relationships with related concerns. Results ESEM supported a 16-item, 2-factor model. Correlations between the modified TOS (i.e., TOS-16) subscales and measures of obsessive–compulsive and eating disorder symptoms, perfectionism, emotional distress, and body image disturbance demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity of the TOS-16. There was a moderate positive correlation between orthorexia nervosa and health anxiety and, together, pursuit of healthy eating and preoccupation with healthy eating accounted for a significant amount of variance in health anxiety after controlling for eating disorder symptoms. Conclusion Overall, this research suggests that the TOS-16 demonstrates psychometric properties as good as or better than other measures commonly used to assess the construct in a U.S. sample. In addition, findings support the consideration of health anxiety as a possible feature of orthorexia nervosa. Level of evidence Level V, descriptive research.

According to research and theory, the construct of perfectionism may apply to specific life domains, including being a perfect sexual partner. We extended the research on sexual perfectionism (SP) by examining the relationships between its various dimensions (i.e., self-directed, partner-directed, socially prescribed, partner-prescribed) and communication about sex, sexual functioning, and appearance self-consciousness during sex. Women (N = 208) of ages 19–50 were recruited online to respond to the Multidimensional Sexual Perfectionism Questionnaire and measures of communication about sex, sexual functioning, and physical appearance self-consciousness during sex. Dimensions of SP demonstrated a mixed pattern of relationships with measures of adaptive functioning. Partner-prescribed SP was related to greater appearance self-consciousness during sex, indicating an unfavorable role of this dimension of SP. An indirect effect of socially prescribed and partner-prescribed SP on sexual functioning through poor dyadic communication about sex and greater appearance self-consciousness was also found. Self-directed SP was less clearly problematic and uniquely related to better dyadic communication, whereas partner-directed SP was uniquely related to fewer concerns about the body appearance during sex. In conclusion, with respect to personal functioning, higher standards directed towards sexual partners may be less problematic but perceptions that romantic partners expect one to be a perfect sexual partner may have deleterious effects. Overall, SP may relate to sexual experiences of women beyond the college-age group with some aspects of SP being more problematic than others.