Intervention Program to Improve Body Image and Self-Esteem Among Female Athletes.

Effectiveness of an Intervention Program to Improve Body Image and Self-Esteem Among Female Adolescent Aesthetic Athletes.

A controlled, randomized clinical intervention study which includes the development and activation of an intervention program designed to prevent eating disorders among adolescent female aesthetic athletes. Our hypothesis is that the intervention program will yield improvement in the participants' eating behaviors, drive for thinness, and body image as compared with the age matched control group. Results will be measured using the study questionnaire, to be filled out by the participants before, after, and three months after the completion of the program. The Questionnaire will include validated questionnaires with good psychometric qualities.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Feeding and Eating Disorders
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Clinical intervention program to prevent eating disorders

Detailed Description

Eating disorders can cause a decrease in athletic performance and affect the overall health of athletes. Athletes are exposed to an increased risk of developing pathological eating behaviors and dissatisfaction with their bodies. A number of studies have found higher rates of eating pathologies in aesthetic sports such as dance, ice skating, and gymnastics. Other studies have found that intervention programs designed to prevent eating disorders in athletes have yielded promising results. The current study will examine the effects of a controlled clinical intervention program designed to prevent eating disorders and improve the body image of female adolescent figure skaters and dancers. The program will consist of ten 45-minute interactive sessions led by the researcher. Each session will include a brief theoretical background, experiential activities (artistic or cognitive / emotional) and group discussions. The control group shall include age matched athletes who will not participate in the intervention program. The impact of the intervention shall be assessed with a nonrandomized, controlled experimental group design. To assess the impact and outcome of the intervention, all participants in the research and control groups will be asked to complete the study questionnaire at pre, post, and 3-month (after post) follow-up assessments. Process evaluation, which assesses program dissemination, attendance and relapse rates, as well as assessment of participants' satisfaction, will be performed at the end of the program. The study questionnaire includes: Personal and Demographic Information, EDI-2 (Eating Disorders Inventory), Body Esteem Scale-Mendelson, SATAQ-4 (Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-4), EDE-Q 8 (Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire- 8), BAS (Body Appreciation Scale). All questionnaires have good psychometric properties. The study hypothesis is that the intervention program will result in improvement in the intervention group in terms of: disturbed eating behaviors, pursuit of thinness, body-dissatisfaction and external influences on body image compared with an age-matched control group that did not participate in the program.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 95
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Israel
  • North Of Israel
    • Kiryat Shmona, North Of Israel, Israel, 1220800
      • Academic College of Tel Hai

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 10 years to 16 years (CHILD)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Female
• Age 10-16
• Athletes in aesthetic sports: figure skaters, dancers and gymnasts.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Males
• Females under age 10 or over 16
• Athletes from non-aesthetic sports
• Non-athletes.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: PREVENTION
• Allocation: NON_RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Masking: NONE

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: Intervention Program; Clinical intervention designed to prevent eating disorders and promote healthy eating habits and body image among female adolescent athletes. The intervention program will include 10 45-min interactive sessions led by the researcher. Each session will include a brief theoretical background, experiential activities (artistic or cognitive / emotional) and group discussions.	Behavioral: Clinical intervention program to prevent eating disorders; See previous
NO_INTERVENTION: Control Group; No participation in intervention program.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in results of study questionnaire.	Questionnaire shall be answered by study participants by hand or using Qualtrics online software. 3 points of assessment for each participant: baseline, post-intervention, and 3 months follow-up.	Each participant shall be assessed for a total duration of 6 months.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Tel Hai College

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (ACTUAL): May 1, 2017
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): April 1, 2018
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): June 1, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 7, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 5, 2017
• First Posted (ACTUAL): July 7, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): July 9, 2018
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 5, 2018
• Last Verified: July 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

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

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No