ERIC Number: EJ912522
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Feb
Pages: 6
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-006X
EISSN: N/A
High- and Low-Level Dissonance-Based Eating Disorder Prevention Programs with Young Women with Body Image Concerns: An Experimental Trial
McMillan, Whitney; Stice, Eric; Rohde, Paul
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, v79 n1 p129-134 Feb 2011
Objective: As cognitive dissonance is theorized to contribute to the effects of dissonance-based eating disorder prevention programs, we evaluated a high-dissonance version of this program against a low-dissonance version and a wait-list control condition to provide an experimental test of the mechanism of intervention effects. Method: Female college students (N = 124, mean age = 20.9 years, SD = 3.9) with body image concerns were randomized to the 3 conditions. The high-dissonance program was designed to maximize dissonance induction, and the low-dissonance program was designed to minimize it; the substantive content of the 2 programs was matched. Results: Relative to controls, those in the high-dissonance condition showed significantly greater reductions in thin-ideal internalization, body dissatisfaction, dieting, and eating disorder symptoms by posttest, and those in the low-dissonance condition showed significantly greater reductions in the first 3 outcomes by posttest, with most of these effects persisting to 3-month follow-up. High-dissonance participants showed significantly greater reductions in eating disorder symptoms than low-dissonance participants did by posttest, but this effect was nonsignificant by 3-month follow-up. Conclusions: Results suggest that dissonance induction contributes to intervention effects but imply that the intervention content, nonspecific factors, and demand characteristics play a much more potent role in producing effects. (Contains 2 tables, 1 figure and 3 footnotes.)
Descriptors: Intervention, Self Concept, Prevention, Eating Disorders, Program Evaluation, Psychological Patterns, Females, College Students, Human Body, Symptoms (Individual Disorders), Measures (Individuals), Effect Size, Statistical Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A