Effectiveness of a dissonance-based eating disorder prevention program for ethnic groups in two randomized controlled...

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Public Health
• Intervention Science

Background:

• Young women from ethnic minority groups may report lower pursuit of the thin ideal and body dissatisfaction compared to European American women.
• Dissonance-based prevention programs aim to reduce thin-ideal internalization among women with body dissatisfaction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test if a dissonance-based prevention program (The Body Project) is less effective for ethnic minority women compared to European American women.
• To examine if matching facilitators and participants from minority groups on ethnicity enhances intervention effects.

Main Methods:

• Study 1: 426 female undergraduates randomized to clinician-led Body Project groups or an educational control.
• Study 2: 189 female undergraduates randomized to peer-led Body Project groups or a waitlist control.

Main Results:

• Ethnic minority participants did not show consistently higher or lower risk factors than European American participants.
• Intervention effects did not significantly differ between minority and European American participants.
• No evidence suggested enhanced effects when minority participants and facilitators were matched on ethnicity.

Conclusions:

• The Body Project demonstrates similar effectiveness across African American, Asian American, European American, and Hispanic female college students.
• Program effectiveness is consistent regardless of whether participants and facilitators are matched on minority ethnicity status.
• These findings support the broad dissemination of The Body Project within diverse female college student populations.