Targeting students, teachers and parents in a wellness-based prevention program in schools

Area of Science:

• Child Psychology
• Public Health
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Wellness programs for students often show minimal effectiveness in preventing eating disorders.
• Previous interventions primarily focused on students, with limited success in changing attitudes and behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a wellness-based prevention program on students' body image, attitudes, and eating behaviors.
• To determine the impact of involving different combinations of participants (students, parents, teachers) in the program.

Main Methods:

• A wellness-based prevention program was implemented across elementary and junior high schools.
• Ten different intervention groups were established, varying participant combinations (student only, student/parent, student/parent/teacher, parent/teacher, control).
• Data from 1,095 students, 114 parents, and 92 teachers were analyzed to compare group differences.

Main Results:

• Participation in the wellness program positively affected students' self-concept, eating attitudes, and behaviors.
• The student/parent/teacher group in elementary schools showed significantly higher posttest scores on self-concept behavior subscales compared to the control group.
• Involving parents and teachers alongside students demonstrated greater effectiveness than student-only interventions.

Conclusions:

• A one-time wellness-based eating disorder prevention program can be more effective when teachers and parents are involved.
• Collaborative interventions involving students, parents, and teachers show promise for improving student attitudes and behaviors related to eating.
• The findings suggest a shift towards more integrated, family-and-school-based approaches for effective eating disorder prevention.