Intervention Program to Improve Body Image and Self-Esteem Among Female Athletes.
Condition: Feeding and Eating Disorders
MeSH terms: Feeding and Eating Disorders
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      A controlled, randomized clinical intervention study which includes the development and
      activation of an intervention program designed to prevent eating disorders among adolescent
      female aesthetic athletes. Our hypothesis is that the intervention program will yield
      improvement in the participants' eating behaviors, drive for thinness, and body image as
      compared with the age matched control group. Results will be measured using the study
      questionnaire, to be filled out by the participants before, after, and three months after the
      completion of the program. The Questionnaire will include validated questionnaires with good
      psychometric qualities.
    

Detailed description: 
      Eating disorders can cause a decrease in athletic performance and affect the overall health
      of athletes. Athletes are exposed to an increased risk of developing pathological eating
      behaviors and dissatisfaction with their bodies. A number of studies have found higher rates
      of eating pathologies in aesthetic sports such as dance, ice skating, and gymnastics. Other
      studies have found that intervention programs designed to prevent eating disorders in
      athletes have yielded promising results. The current study will examine the effects of a
      controlled clinical intervention program designed to prevent eating disorders and improve the
      body image of female adolescent figure skaters and dancers. The program will consist of ten
      45-minute interactive sessions led by the researcher. Each session will include a brief
      theoretical background, experiential activities (artistic or cognitive / emotional) and group
      discussions. The control group shall include age matched athletes who will not participate in
      the intervention program. The impact of the intervention shall be assessed with a
      nonrandomized, controlled experimental group design. To assess the impact and outcome of the
      intervention, all participants in the research and control groups will be asked to complete
      the study questionnaire at pre, post, and 3-month (after post) follow-up assessments. Process
      evaluation, which assesses program dissemination, attendance and relapse rates, as well as
      assessment of participants' satisfaction, will be performed at the end of the program. The
      study questionnaire includes: Personal and Demographic Information, EDI-2 (Eating Disorders
      Inventory), Body Esteem Scale-Mendelson, SATAQ-4 (Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance
      Questionnaire-4), EDE-Q 8 (Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire- 8), BAS (Body
      Appreciation Scale). All questionnaires have good psychometric properties. The study
      hypothesis is that the intervention program will result in improvement in the intervention
      group in terms of: disturbed eating behaviors, pursuit of thinness, body-dissatisfaction and
      external influences on body image compared with an age-matched control group that did not
      participate in the program.
    

Intervention name(s): Clinical intervention program to prevent eating disorders
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): See previous
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention