The Peer-Delivered Body Project for Young Women in High School

Implementation and Evaluation of the Peer-Delivered Body Project for Young Women in High School

This study will evaluate the impact of the Body Project (a dissonance-based program designed to address body image concerns and prevent eating disorders) on key eating disorder risk factors and relevant social and self-constructs at three time-points (pre, post, and one-year follow-up). Young women will be recruited from two high schools and will be randomized to receive the Body Project or to the control group. The Body Project will be facilitated by college-aged women.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Eating Disorders in Adolescence
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: The Body Project

Detailed Description

Preventive models that can avert the onset of eating disorders and innovative delivery methods that increase engagement with care offer a promising approach to improving the mental health and wellness of young women. This study aims to implement and evaluate the Body Project, a 4-hour dissonance-based program designed to address body image concerns and prevent eating disorders with high school young women using a peer delivery model. This study will evaluate the impact of the Body Project on key eating disorder risk factors and relevant social and self-constructs at three time-points (pre, post, and one-year follow-up). Young women will be recruited from two high schools and will be randomized to receive the Body Project program or to the control group. The Body Project will be facilitated by college-aged young women who have been trained to deliver the Body Project.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 74
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Colorado
    • Boulder, Colorado, United States, 80309
      • University of Colorado Boulder

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: ADULT; OLDER_ADULT; CHILD
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

- Female high school student

Exclusion Criteria:

- Previous participation in the Body Project program

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: PREVENTION
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: PARALLEL
• Masking: NONE

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: Experimental: The Body Project for high school young women; The 4-hour Body Project workshop delivered by trained peer leaders	Behavioral: The Body Project; The Body Project is a 4-hour dissonance-based program designed to address body image concerns and prevent eating disorders. The curriculum consists of written, verbal, and behavioral exercises that provide participants with the opportunity to voluntarily and publicly critique the appearance ideal.
NO_INTERVENTION: Control; The business-as-usual comparison group does not participate in the Body Project but may engage in any other programs or services they normally would

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Thin-Ideal Internalization Scale	Self-report measure of endorsement of the thin ideal (scale 1-5 with higher scores indicating higher levels of thin ideal internalization)	Baseline, Post-intervention (4 weeks after baseline), 1 year post-intervention follow-up
Change in Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction with Body Parts Scale	Self-report measure of body dissatisfaction (scale 1-5 with higher scores indicating higher levels of dissatisfaction)	Baseline, Post-intervention (4 weeks after baseline), 1 year post-intervention follow-up
Change in Dutch Restrained Eating Scale	Self-report measure of dietary restraint (scale 1-5 with higher scores indicating higher levels of eating restraint)	Baseline, Post-intervention (4 weeks after baseline), 1 year post-intervention follow-up
Change in Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale-Revised	Self-report measure of negative affect (scale 1-5 with higher scores indicating higher levels of negative affect)	Baseline, Post-intervention (4 weeks after baseline), 1 year post-intervention follow-up

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Objectified Body Consciousness Scale - Body Surveillance Subscale	Self-report measure of body monitoring and surveillance (scale 1-7 with higher scores indicating higher levels of body surveillance)	Baseline, Post-intervention (4 weeks after baseline), 1 year post-intervention follow-up
Change in UCLA Loneliness Scale	Self-report measure of loneliness (scale 1-4 with higher scores indicating higher levels of loneliness)	Baseline, Post-intervention (4 weeks after baseline), 1 year post-intervention follow-up
Change in Inventory of Peer Influence on Eating Concerns	Self-report measure of peer influence on eating and body concerns (scale 1-5 with higher scores indicating higher levels of peer influence)	Baseline, Post-intervention (4 weeks after baseline), 1 year post-intervention follow-up
Change in Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)	Self-report measure for depressive symptom severity(scale 0-3 with higher scores indicating higher levels of depression)	Baseline, Post-intervention (4 weeks after baseline), 1 year post-intervention follow-up
Change in Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7)	Self-report measure for symptoms of generalized anxiety (scale 0-3 with higher scores indicating higher levels of anxiety)	Baseline, Post-intervention (4 weeks after baseline), 1 year post-intervention follow-up
Change in General Self-Efficacy Scale	Self-report measure of self-efficacy (scale 1-4 with higher scores indicating higher levels of self-efficacy)	Baseline, Post-intervention (4 weeks after baseline), 1 year post-intervention follow-up
Change in Self-Compassion Scale	Self-report measure of self-compassion (scale 1-5 with higher scores indicating higher levels of self-compassion)	Baseline, Post-intervention (4 weeks after baseline), 1 year post-intervention follow-up
Change in Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale	Self-report measure of global self-worth (scale 1-4 with higher scores indicating higher levels of self-esteem)	Baseline, Post-intervention (4 weeks after baseline), 1 year post-intervention follow-up
Sense of Belonging (Body Project group only)	Self-report measure of anticipated belonging with group (scale 1-7 with higher scores indicating higher levels of anticipated belonging)	Baseline
Sense of Belonging Follow-Up (Body Project group only)	Self-report measure of belonging with group (scale 1-7 with higher scores indicating higher levels of experienced belonging)	Post-intervention (4 weeks after baseline)
Working Alliance Inventory (Body Project group only)	Self-report measure of therapeutic alliance with peer leaders (scale 1-5 with higher scores indicating higher levels of working alliance)	Post-intervention (4 weeks after baseline)
Program Satisfaction (Body Project group only)	Self-reported ratings of satisfaction with program and peer leaders (scale 1-4 with higher scores indicating higher levels of program satisfaction)	Post-intervention (4 weeks after baseline)
Fidelity and Competence (Body Project group only)	Observer-rated assessments of peer leader fidelity and competence (scale 1-10 with higher scores indicating higher levels of facilitator fidelity and competence)	From the first Body Project session to the final (fourth) Body Project session, 4 weeks on average

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Colorado, Boulder

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Vanderkruik R, Gist D, Dimidjian S. Preventing eating disorders in young women: An RCT and mixed-methods evaluation of the peer-delivered Body Project. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2020 Dec;88(12):1105-1118. doi: 10.1037/ccp0000609.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (ACTUAL): August 1, 2018
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): March 30, 2020
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): March 30, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 29, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 7, 2020
• First Posted (ACTUAL): February 10, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): June 26, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 24, 2020
• Last Verified: June 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Female; Adolescence; Eating disorder prevention; Body Project; Peer delivery
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Feeding and Eating Disorders
• Other Study ID Numbers: 18-0007-01

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