OBJECTIVE: We tested the hypothesis that a protective self-presentation style (Lennox and Wolfe, 1984) is associated with eating pathology and anorexia nervosa (AN) and that this association is mediated by sociocultural attitudes towards appearance emphasizing the thin ideal. METHOD: We compared the protective-presentation style of women with AN (N=17), partially recovered women (N=110), fully recovered women (N=73), and female controls (N=374). RESULTS: Ill women had a more protective self-presentation style than partially or fully recovered women, who in turn had a more protective self-presentation style than controls. Sociocultural attitudes towards appearance fully mediated the association between protective self-presentation and disordered eating. CONCLUSIONS: Protective self-presentation may therefore be a risk factor for AN and/or a prognostic factor. Implications for therapy and prevention are discussed.