Dissonance‐based prevention of eating disorder risk factors in middle school girls: Results from two pilot trials

Abstract

Objective Although several eating disorder prevention programs reduce eating disorder risk factors and symptoms for female high school and college students, few efficacious prevention programs exist for female middle school students, despite the fact that body image and eating disturbances often emerge then. Two pilot trials evaluated a new dissonance-based eating disorder prevention program for middle school girls with body image concerns. Methods Female middle school students with body dissatisfaction from two sites (Study 1: N = 81, M age = 12.1, SD = 0.9; Study 2: N = 52, M age = 12.5, SD = 0.8) were randomized to a dissonance intervention (MS Body Project) or educational brochure control; Study 2 included a 3-month follow-up. Results Intervention participants showed significant posttest reductions in only one of six variables with both Studies 1 and 2 (i.e., pressure to be thin and negative affect, respectively), though posttest effect sizes suggested medium reductions in eating disorder risk factors and symptoms (Study 1 M d = 0.40; Study 2 M d = 0.65); reductions at 3-month follow-up in Study 2 were not evident (M d = 0.19). Conclusions Results suggest that this new middle school version of the Body Project is producing medium magnitude reductions in eating disorder risk factors at posttest but that effects are showing limited persistence. Continued refinement and evaluation of this intervention appears warranted to develop more effective prevention programs for this age group.

Eficacia de los programas preventivos de trastornos alimentarios en adolescentes: análisis bibliográfico

“…El estudio con mayor tamaño muestral cuenta con un total de 1.848 participantes (Weigel et al, 2015), mientras que 81 es el tamaño de participantes menor (Rohde et al, 2014). La menor edad media de los de los sujetos es la del trabajo de Rohde et al (2014) con 12.1, y la más elevada es de 16,2 (Horney et al, 2015 Todos los programas pusieron de evidencia la eficacia de los programas cuando se compararon con el grupo control. Muchos de los programas incidían se habían diseñado para manejar la insatisfacción corporal y mejorar la autoestima.…”

“…El programa MS Body Project (Rohde et al, 2014) tiene como elemento clave la inducción de la disonancia y se desarrolla a lo largo de 6 sesiones semanales de 45 minutos, en grupos de 5 a 8 participantes. Se lleva al participante a tomar una postura actitudinal al criticar el ideal de delgadez mediante la participación verbal, por escrito y mediante ejercicios conductuales, tanto durante las sesiones como en las actividades del hogar.…”

Outcomes of three universal eating disorder risk reduction programs by participants with higher and lower baseline shape and weight concern

“…However, this program is yet to be investigated with mixed‐gender young‐adolescent samples. Another effective selective prevention program, The Body Project , has been evaluated in two studies with young‐adolescent girls ( M age = 12.1 years) . Findings revealed just one of six variables showed significant benefit at post‐program in each study and this was not maintained at 3‐month follow‐up in Study 2.…”

“…Another effective selective prevention program, The Body Project, 39,40,42 has been evaluated in two studies with young-adolescent girls (M age 5 12.1 years). 43 Findings revealed just one of six variables showed significant benefit at post-program in each study and this was not maintained at 3-month follow-up in Study 2. The authors provided comparisons of average effect sizes with their previous studies with older participants, where in the younger sample mean effect sizes were approximately half (and sometimes lower) those of earlier studies.…”

Integrating intervention targets offered by homeostatic theory

“…Stice et al, 2011) and high school students (Stice et al, 2011), although it has been less successful among middle school girls (Rohde et al, 2014). Given its efficacy, efforts have been focused on improving the translatability of this intervention.…”