SOMEBODY, a Social Media-based Eating Disorder Prevention Program

An Open Trial Pilot Study of SOMEBODY, a Social Media-based Eating Disorder Prevention Program for College Women

The purpose of this study is to develop and evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary evidence of potential efficacy of a social-media based intervention to reduce risk factors for eating disorders in college women.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Eating Disorder Symptom
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: SOMEBODY Eating Disorder Prevention Program

Detailed Description

Previous research supports an association between specific aspects of social media use and increased eating pathology in correlational designs and that specific aspects of social media use cause increases in risk factors for eating disorders. The aim of the current project is to determine whether social media use can be altered to cause decreases in eating disorder risk factors. To accomplish this, college women will be recruited to participate in an open trial of a pilot program that adapts activities used within evidence-based eating disorder prevention programs to be used on social media platforms. The intervention is designed to target internalization of the thin ideal.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 8
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Florida
    • Tallahassee, Florida, United States, 32304
      • Florida State University Psychology Department

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 25 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• female
• 18 to 25 years old
• score in the top 50th percentile for time spent on social media each day

Exclusion Criteria:

• male
• <18 years or >25 years old
• individuals who screen positive for a Diagnostic Statistical Manual-5 eating disorder on the Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: SOMEBODY Eating Disorder Prevention Program; All participants will be recruited to participate in the SOcial MEdia (SOME) adaptation of activities from the BODY Project (SOMEBODY).

Behavioral: SOMEBODY Eating Disorder Prevention Program; Participants will receive daily activities to complete on their most frequently used social media platform for 14 consecutive days. Daily activities have been adapted from the Body Project - an intervention that has been demonstrated to reduce internalization of the thin ideal and reduce risk for eating disorders. Examples of activities to be piloted include unfollowing social media accounts the participant perceives as reinforcing the thin-ideal and posting a selfie without makeup or editing. Based on feedback from participants, the intervention may be altered to improve acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary evidence of potential efficacy.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Acceptability of intervention	Acceptability will be evaluated with 7-point Likert scale ratings, with a score ≥5 indicating that participants found the intervention acceptable	2 weeks
Feasibility of intervention	Feasibility will be evaluated as the percentage of consented and enrolled participants who complete ≥10 of the 14 days of the intervention, with ≥80% indicating feasibility	2 weeks
Change in internalization of the thin ideal	The Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire - 4 Revised (SATAQ-4R) Internalization Subscales will be used to measure internationalization of the thin ideal before and after the intervention. An effect size of d=.50 for within subject change in score will establish preliminary evidence of potential efficacy	Pre-intervention assessment to post-intervention assessment (or approximately 14 days from baseline)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in body image concerns	The Eating Disorders Examination Questionnaire Weight and Shape Concerns subscales adapted for the past 7 days will be used to measure change in body image before and after the intervention	Pre-intervention assessment to post-intervention assessment (or approximately 14 days from baseline)
Change in dietary restraint	The Eating Disorders Examination Questionnaire Dietary Restraint subscale adapted for the past 7 days will be used to measure change in dietary restraint before and after the intervention	Pre-intervention assessment to post-intervention assessment (or approximately 14 days from baseline)
Change in bulimic symptoms	The Eating Disorders Examination Questionnaire Self-Reported Bulimic Symptom Composite Score adapted for the past 7 days will be used to measure change in bulimic symptom frequency before and after the intervention	Pre-intervention assessment to post-intervention assessment (or approximately 14 days from baseline)
Change in disordered eating	The Eating Disorders Examination Questionnaire Global Score adapted for the past 7 days will be used to measure change in disordered eating before and after the intervention	Pre-intervention assessment to post-intervention assessment (or approximately 14 days from baseline)
Change in social media use	The Social Media Use Questionnaire items assessing frequency and type of engagement with social media will be used to measure change in social media use before and after the intervention	Pre-intervention assessment to post-intervention assessment (or approximately 14 days from baseline)
Adherence to protocol - self-reported	The Social Media Use Questionnaire items assessing adherence to daily social media activities will be used to measure self-reported adherence after the intervention	2 weeks
Adherence to protocol - observed	With participant consent, a research assistant will follow the social media account the participant plans to use for the SOMEBODY intervention and will complete a checklist on a daily basis (yes/no) on whether or not the participant completed the daily assignment	Daily for the 14 days of the intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Florida State University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Pamela K Keel, Ph.D., Florida State University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 29, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 22, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): April 22, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 16, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 18, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): March 23, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 4, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 3, 2022
• Last Verified: May 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Feeding and Eating Disorders
• Other Study ID Numbers: 00001960

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