Effects of a Yoga-Based Course in Preventing Disordered Eating in Female Collegiate Athletes
Condition: Disordered Eating Behaviors
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      The purpose of the study is to evaluate effects of a 7-week undergraduate course,
      incorporating Eat Breathe Thrive program curriculum, offered to female student-athletes in
      order to increase positive body image, emotional regulation, interoceptive awareness,
      self-care skills, and intuitive eating. The undergraduate course is structured around the Eat
      Breathe Thrive program curriculum, which aims to: a) teach somatic practices that increase
      interoceptive awareness, b) provide healthy tools for emotional regulation, c) allow for the
      creation of community-based networks of support, and (d) foster a sense of meaning and
      purpose through service activities. In a non-randomized controlled trial, the investigators
      plan to examine whether this preventative undergraduate course is found effective in a female
      student-athlete population in preventing and decreasing eating disorder risk. The
      investigators also plan to examine whether the program is found effective in increasing
      protective factors, such as self-care behaviors, interoceptive awareness, intuitive eating,
      and emotional regulation skills.
    

Detailed description: 
      To the investigators' knowledge, there are no studies that incorporate yoga into eating
      disorder prevention intervention in a student-athlete population, indicating a gap in
      literature that the proposed study aims to address. In this study, a 7-week undergraduate
      course offered to female student-athletes, which incorporates Eat Breathe Thrive program
      curriculum, will be examined to evaluate preventative effects. The Eat Breathe Thrive program
      was selected by the course instructors to provide female student-athletes with mental health
      support, utilizing an interactive multisession format with a positive psychology orientation.
      Eat Breathe Thrive's curriculum focuses on the reduction of eating disorder risk by lesson
      plans centered around positive engagement with others and developing a strong relationship
      with self. This framework is based on the idea that individuals are able to sustain proper
      health, relationships, and overall well-being using the positive embodiment tools and
      psychoeducational information learned. The study aims to contribute to the eating disorder
      literature targeting female student-athletes by examining the effects of a prevention program
      delivered as part of an undergraduate course.

      It is hypothesized that:

        -  Prevention course participants will show a decrease in disordered eating behaviors when
           compared to controls.

        -  Prevention course participants will show an increase in self-care behaviors compared to
           controls.

        -  Prevention course participants will show an increase in interoceptive awareness,
           intuitive eating, and emotional regulation when compared to controls.

        -  Prevention course participants will show a decrease in difficulties with emotional
           regulation and an increase in tolerance to distress when compared to controls.

        -  Prevention course participants will show better maintenance of wellbeing as well as
           better maintenance in decreased symptomatology as compared to compared to controls.

      The study will employ self-report surveys to examine the preventative effects of
      participation in a 7-week course utilizing a longitudinal non-randomized control design with
      Division I female student-athletes in western New York. Participants will be current female
      student-athletes recruited within the university's athletic department. Experimental group
      participants will be recruited from their enrollment in the prevention course offered that
      incorporates the Eat Breathe Thrive curriculum. Since the prevention course has a capacity of
      30 students per semester, data will be collected for four 7-week semesters to account for
      total sample size. The study will be recruiting from a total of 120 female student-athletes
      in the experimental group. Female student-athletes not enrolled in the prevention course will
      be recruited for control. Each semester, course enrollment numbers will be matched by
      recruiting research participants from the rest of the female student-athlete population at
      the university (those who are not enrolled in the course). Female student-athletes in the
      experimental and control groups will complete all study measures at the same time points
      throughout the study. This study is based on the need to provide female student-athletes with
      greater access to effective tools and strategies that support their well-being as well as to
      protect this high-risk population against the development of an eating disorder.
    

Intervention name(s): Prevention Course Group
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): The undergraduate prevention course is structured around Eat Breathe Thrive Program curriculum. The course aims to teach somatic practices, provide healthy tools for emotional regulation, allow for the creation of community-based networks of support, foster a sense of meaning and purpose through service activities, and practice these learned skills through yoga.
Other intervention name(s): Eat Breathe Thrive Program
Observational model: Case-Control
Time perspective: Prospective
Sampling method: Non-Probability Sample
Study population: 
        Participants are from the undergraduate student-athlete population at the university who
        are currently a member of one of the Division I sports teams. Specifically, female
        undergraduate student-athletes, ranging from ages 18-24.
      
Keywords: prevention; collegiate athletes; yoga