Eating disorder symptoms and the 2 × 2 model of perfectionism: Mixed perfectionism is the most maladaptive combination

Purpose: The 2 × 2 model of perfectionism (Gaudreau & Thompson, 2010) represents an important addition to the perfectionism literature, but so far has not been studied in relation to disordered eating. Method: Using the 2 × 2 model as analytic framework, this study examined responses from a convenience sample of 716 participants aged 19-68 years (71% female) investigating how self-oriented perfectionism (SOP) and socially prescribed perfectionism (SPP) predicted individual differences in eating disorder symptoms, additionally controlling for body mass index, gender, and age. Results: Results showed a significant SOP × SPP interaction indicating that the combination of high SOP and high SPP--called “mixed perfectionism”--was associated with the highest levels of eating disorder symptoms. Conclusions: The findings demonstrate the utility of the 2 × 2 model of perfectionism as an analytic framework for examining perfectionism and disordered eating. Moreover, they suggest that mixed perfectionism is the most maladaptive form of perfectionism, when it comes to disordered eating, such that having high levels of SPP combined with high levels of SOP represents the most maladaptive combination of perfectionism in terms of risk of eating disorder

Resilient and dynamic soil biology

Agricultural intensification has delivered great gains in terms of food production but has come at great environmental cost. Consequently, there is growing societal demand for more sustainable farming systems, i.e., sustainable intensification. Within this, there is increasing recognition of the ecosystem services provided by soil organisms that contribute both to agricultural production and environmental sustainability. Conventional tillage-based farming systems experience frequent and significant soil disturbance, which negatively impacts many key soil organism groups, e.g., fungi and earthworms. Loss of these soil organisms results in loss of critical soil ecosystem services, including those related to soil nutrient cycling, crop nutrient uptake, and soil water management. Conversion of farming systems from conventional tillage to no-till can allow recovery of soil biology and restoration of soil ecosystem services. Thus, no-till farming systems can contribute positively towards sustainable intensification. However, important knowledge gaps and challenges remain. Greater knowledge of what soil organisms are present in soil and what services they provide is urgently needed. The ultimate goal is to understand how soil biology can be manipulated through management to provide desirable ecosystem services in space and time