Trial of a psychoeducational eating disturbance intervention for college women: A replication and extension

Abstract

We conducted a controlled trial of a psychoeducational eating disturbance intervention to replicate the positive findings observed in the preliminary evaluation of this intervention and to determine whether the effects persist for a longer follow-up period. College women who took the psychoeducational class and a matched control sample of students (N = 95) completed pretest, posttest, and 6-month follow-up surveys. Intervention participants showed significantly greater reductions in thin-ideal internalization, body dissatisfaction, dieting, and eating disorder symptoms, as well as significantly less weight gain, relative to matched controls over the study period. Intervention effects tended to be larger at 6-month follow-up than at posttest. These findings suggest that the intervention effects for eating disorder risk factors and eating disorder symptoms, as well as the weight gain prevention effects, are reproducible and persist over time. This intervention has both mental health and public health significance.