Attention Training and Its Effects on Body Image Disturbance

Research has consistently found attentional biases towards negative weight-related stimuli in individuals with eating disorders. It has been suggested that these biases may act as a vulnerability factor for the development and maintenance of body dissatisfaction and may therefore be an important target for intervention. Previous studies have demonstrated the capacity to modify the patterns of attention allocation to threatening stimuli in a variety of anxiety disorders, with a subsequent and sustained reduction in anxiety symptoms. Thus, the present study aimed at testing the efficacy of attention training in reducing attentional biases and eating disorder symptoms in individuals with elevated levels of body image disturbance and eating disorder symptomatology of clinical severity. Thirty-two participants were randomly allocated to receive eight sessions of a 10-minute computer task aimed at training their attention away from weight-related stimuli or a control placebo training condition. Results showed that participants in the attention training group had a significantly greater reduction in their attentional bias and body dissatisfaction from pre- to post-training relative to the placebo condition. At follow-up, both groups showed a significant decrease in body dissatisfaction from their pre-training levels. The only significant difference between groups in eating disorder symptoms at follow-up was in terms of the attention training group experiencing a greater reduction in weight and shape concerns.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Body Dissatisfaction; Eating Disorder Symptoms
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: attention training; Behavioral: placebo training

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 32
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Australia
  • New South Wales
    • Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 2006
      • The University of Sydney

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 37 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• If they have a score on the Body Shape Questionnaire of 113 or more AND a score in the EDE-Q of 4 or more in any subscale.

Exclusion Criteria:

• attention bias score of <-10

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Placebo Comparator: placebo training	Behavioral: placebo training
Experimental: attention training	Behavioral: attention training

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Sydney

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: June 1, 2009
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 1, 2009
• Study Completion (Actual): January 1, 2010

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 22, 2010
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 22, 2010
• First Posted (Estimate): April 26, 2010

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): April 26, 2010
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 22, 2010
• Last Verified: April 1, 2010

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Feeding and Eating Disorders
• Other Study ID Numbers: USydney11760