Preventing eating disorders with an interactive gender-adapted intervention program in schools: study protocol of a...

Area of Science:

• Adolescent health
• Psychology
• Public health

Background:

• High prevalence of eating disorder risk among adolescents necessitates targeted prevention.
• Effective programs are interactive, professionally led, and address psychosocial factors, risks, and resources.
• Existing prevention strategies require enhancement for this critical age group.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present the design of a novel, interactive, gender-adapted eating disorder prevention program implemented in schools.
• To evaluate the practicability and efficacy of this school-based intervention.
• To gather data on eating disorder risk factors in school-aged children.

Main Methods:

• A six-hour, gender-adapted program incorporating interactive and educational elements on eating disorders.
• Participants engage in exercises focusing on media influence, self-esteem, body perception, and resources.
• A cluster-randomized controlled trial involving 1848 participants, with measurements at baseline, post-intervention, and six-month follow-up.

Main Results:

• Measurements include eating disorder risk, internalization of beauty ideals, body dissatisfaction, self-concept, anxiety, and depression symptoms.
• Data collection occurs pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention, and at a six-month follow-up.
• The intervention group provides feedback on program components.

Conclusions:

• The study will assess the feasibility and effectiveness of the interactive, gender-adapted eating disorder prevention program in a school setting.
• Findings will offer insights into the prevalence of eating disorder risk factors among school-aged children.
• The research aims to contribute to the development of evidence-based prevention strategies for eating disorders.