Developing a justice-focused body image program for U.S. middle schoolers: a school-based community-engaged research...

Area of Science:

• Community-engaged research
• Adolescent health
• Body image interventions

Background:

• Early adolescents face significant body image challenges influenced by societal pressures.
• Existing body image programs often lack diversity and community input.
• There is a need for inclusive, evidence-informed programs addressing cultural appearance ideals and media influence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a community-engaged research process for co-creating and implementing a diversity-focused body image program for early adolescents.
• To develop an evidence-informed program incorporating youth leadership and an equity lens.
• To outline the guiding principles and lessons learned from the program development and piloting phases.

Main Methods:

• A collaborative research process involving middle school staff, students, teachers, and university faculty.
• Bi-weekly advisory team meetings and a year-long youth co-design process.
• Inclusive program writing, piloting with feedback, and iterative refinement.

Main Results:

• Co-creation of the 8-session (6-hour total) Body Justice Project.
• The program integrates dissonance-based and media literacy foundations.
• Topics include cultural appearance ideals, diet culture, media pressure, and body autonomy.

Conclusions:

• Community engagement and youth co-design are effective for developing relevant and inclusive body image programs.
• The Body Justice Project provides a framework for addressing body image concerns in diverse adolescent populations.
• The program is designed for in-class delivery by trained co-facilitator teams.