Effectiveness of peer-led eating disorders prevention: a replication trial

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Public Health
• Intervention Science

Background:

• Previous research indicated the effectiveness of peer-led interventions for eating disorder prevention.
• There was a need to extend these findings to a larger, more diverse sample and investigate differential responses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To replicate and extend previous findings on peer-led eating disorder prevention interventions.
• To investigate the differential effectiveness of cognitive dissonance (CD) and media advocacy (MA) interventions based on risk level.

Main Methods:

• A larger sample (N=188) of undergraduate sorority women (higher and lower risk) were randomly assigned to CD or MA interventions.
• Interventions were delivered by trained peer leaders in two 2-hour group sessions.
• Eating disorder risk factors were assessed at pretreatment, posttreatment, and at 7-week and 8-month follow-ups.

Main Results:

• Both CD and MA interventions significantly reduced thin-ideal internalization, body dissatisfaction, dietary restraint, and bulimic pathology at 8 months.
• Higher-risk participants showed benefits from both CD and MA interventions.
• Lower-risk participants appeared to benefit primarily from the CD intervention.

Conclusions:

• Peer-led cognitive dissonance and media advocacy interventions are viable for reducing eating disorder risk factors in college women.
• The cognitive dissonance intervention may be particularly beneficial for lower-risk individuals.
• The findings support the use of peer leaders in dissonance-based eating disorder prevention programs.