The Relationship Between Orthorexia Nervosa Tendencies, Eating Attitudes, and Obsessive Compulsive Symptoms of Nursing Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology Vol.8 Issue.1

Doi:10.35365/ctjpp.26.1.10

RESEARCH ARTICLE / ARAŞTIRMA YAZISI

The Relationship Between Orthorexia Nervosa Tendencies, Eating Attitudes, and Obsessive Compulsive Symptoms of Nursing Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Hemşirelik Öğrencilerinin Ortoreksia Nervoza Eğilimleri, Yeme Tutumları ve Obsesif Kompulsif Belirtiler Arasındaki İlişki: Kesitsel Bir Çalışma

Aynur Bahar¹ , Döndü Çuhadar¹

Abstract:

At the start of university education, young people tend to disregard healthy eating recommendations, overeat or eat unhealthily, follow strict diets, and skip meals. For these reasons, eating disorders are more frequently observed among university students. This study was conducted to evaluate the orthorexic tendencies of nursing students and to determine the relationship between eating attitudes and obsessive symptoms. The study sample consisted of 209 nursing students. The Personal Information Form, Orthorexia Nervosa Scale, Eating Attitudes Test, and Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Questionnaire were administered by the researchers. Descriptive analyses, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, correlation, and regression analyses were used to evaluate the data. The mean scores for the ORTO-11 scale were 28.72±4.84; the YTT-26 scale was 8.51±8.20; and the MOKSL was 16.21±7.66. Evaluations based on the total scale scores revealed a negative, low-level, and significant correlation between ORTO-11 and YTT-26; a negative, moderate-level, and significant correlation between ORTO-11 and MOKSL; and a positive, low-level, and significant correlation between YTT-26 and MOKSL. This study, it was revealed that obsessive-compulsive habits and eating attitude disorder may affect orthorexia. Screening and early detection of eating disorders is important as it will provide an early treatment option. It is recommended to conduct screenings for students to prevent physical and psychological complications.

Keywords: Orthorexia Nervosa, Eating Attitude, Obsessive Compulsive Symptoms.

¹Gaziantep University, Health Science Faculty, Department of Nursing, Psychiatric Nursing Department, Gaziantep, Türkiye.

Address of Correspondence/Yazışma Adresi: Aynur Bahar, Gaziantep University, Health Science Faculty, Department of Nursing, Psychiatric Nursing Department, Gaziantep, Türkiye, E-mail: [email protected].

Date of Received/Geliş Tarihi: 03.01.2024, Date of Revision/Düzeltme Tarihi: 02.03.2026, Date of Acceptance/Kabul Tarihi:09.03.2026, Date of Online Publication/Çevirimiçi Yayın Tarihi: 25.03.2026

Citing/Referans Gösterimi: Bahar, A. & Çuhadar, D. (2026). The Relationship Between Orthorexia Nervosa Tendencies, Eating Attitudes, and Obsessive Compulsive Symptoms of Nursing Students: A Cross-Sectional Study, Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology, 8(1), 74-81, Doi:10.35365/ctjpp.26.1.10

© 2026 The Author(s). Published by Cyprus Mental Health Institute / Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry and Psychology (www.ktppdergisi.com). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/