Psychology Commons^™

Treatment For Anorexia Nervosa: Are We Missing The Mark?, Peta Stapleton, Amy Bannatyne

Peta B. Stapleton

Extract: Eating Disorders (EDs) are serious psychological conditions where attitudes toward food, weight and body size or shape become distorted and severe disturbances in eating or exercise behaviours often occur (Fairburn and Harrison, 2003). In a categorical sense, EDs can be divided into four broad groups: Anorexia Nervosa (AN), Bulimia Nervosa (BN), Binge Eating Disorder (BED) and Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorders (OSFED, previously EDNOS) (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, 2013). However, these categories are not discrete and it is not uncommon for sufferers to experience a spectrum of symptoms or crossover between diagnostic criteria. …

Reducing Self-Objectification: Are Dissonance-Based Methods A Possible Approach?, Carolyn Becker, Kaitlin Hill, Rebecca Greif, Hongmei Han, Tiffany Stewart

Carolyn Becker

Background

Previous research has documented that self-objectification is associated with numerous negative outcomes including body shame, eating disorder (ED) pathology, and negative affect. This exploratory open study investigated whether or not an evidence-based body image improvement program that targets thin-ideal internalization in university women also reduces self-objectification. A second aim of the study was to determine if previous findings showing that body shame mediated the relationship between self-objectification and eating disorder pathology at a single time point (consistent with self-objectification theory) but did not mediate longitudinally (inconsistent with self-objectification theory) would be replicated in a new sample under novel conditions. …

I’M Not Just Fat, I’M Old: Has The Study Of Body Image Talk Overlooked “Old Talk?”, Carolyn Becker, Phillippa Diedrichs, Glen Jankowski, Chelsey Werchan

Carolyn Becker

Background Research indicates that body dissatisfaction is correlated with and often predictive of both physical and mental health problems. “Fat talk,” a well-studied form of body image talk in adolescents and university-aged women, has been implicated as contributing to body dissatisfaction and mediating the relationship between body dissatisfaction and other mental health problems. Limited research, however, has investigated fat talk across the female lifespan. Further, consistent with most body image research, fat talk research solely focuses on the thin dimension of idealized female attractiveness, even though other dimensions may contribute to body dissatisfaction in women. Method The current study investigated …

Eating Disorder Prevention: Current Evidence-Base And Future Directions, Eric Stice, Carolyn Becker, Sonja Yokum

Carolyn Becker

Objective This narrative review sought to (a) characterize prevention programs that have produced reliable, reproducible, and clinically meaningful effects in efficacy trials, (b) discuss effectiveness trials that have tested whether prevention programs produce intervention effects under ecologically valid real-world conditions, (c) discuss dissemination efforts and research on dissemination, and (d) offer suggestions regarding directions for future research in this field. Conclusion A literature revealed that 6 prevention programs have produced significant reductions in eating disorder symptoms through at least 6-month follow-up and that 2 have significantly reduced future eating disorder onset. Effectiveness trials indicate that 2 prevention programs have produced …

Dissonance-Based Interventions For The Prevention Of Eating Disorders: Using Persuasion Principles To Promote Health, Eric Stice, Heather Shaw, Carolyn Becker, Paul Rohde

Carolyn Becker

The limited efficacy of prior eating disorder (ED) prevention programs led to the development of dissonance-based interventions (DBI) that utilize dissonance-based persuasion principles from social psychology. Although DBIs have been used to change other attitudes and behaviors, only recently have they been applied to ED prevention. This article reviews the theoretical rationale and empirical support for this type of prevention program. Relative to assessment-only controls, DBIs have produced greater reductions in ED risk factors, ED symptoms, future risk for onset of threshold or subthreshold EDs, future risk for obesity onset, and mental health utilization, with some effects persisting through 3-year …

Changing The Course Of Comorbid Eating Disorders And Depression: What Is The Role Of Public Health Interventions In Targeting Shared Risk Factors?, Carolyn Becker, Maribel Plasencia, Lisa Smith Kilpela, Morgan Briggs, Tiffany Stewart

Carolyn Becker

Public health has a productive history of improving global health due to its focus on reaching large populations using effective and scalable interventions. Yet, the marriage between evidence-based science and the implementation of community/public health interventions within mental illness remains underdeveloped. Research suggests that major depression is the most commonly cited comorbidity for eating disorders (EDs). Thus, identification of public health strategies that jointly impact depression and EDs, including shared risk factors, has the potential to significantly impact mental health suffering. The primary aim of this paper is to examine and discuss such public health approaches as well as explore …

Peer Facilitated Eating Disorder Prevention: A Randomized Effectiveness Trial Of Cognitive Dissonance And Media Advocacy, Carolyn Becker, Lisa Smith, Anna Ciao

Carolyn Becker

This study investigated the effectiveness of two interventions in reducing eating disorder risk factors under naturalistic conditions in sororities. Based on previous research, the campus sororities chose to implement a semi-mandatory, two-session eating disorder prevention program to all new sorority members (N=90) during sorority orientation. To facilitate evaluation, sororities agreed to random assignment of new members to either a cognitive dissonance or media advocacy intervention. Undergraduate peer facilitators ran the groups. Although both interventions had an effect, cognitive dissonance generally was superior at eight-month followup. Results further support the utility of cognitive dissonance in reducing eating disorder risk factors, and …

Explainer: Anorexia And Bulimia, Peta Stapleton

Peta B. Stapleton

Eating disorders are an increasing problem in children and adolescents. Recent Australian studies have indicated eating disorder behaviour has increased twofold in Australia in the last five years and 9% (men and women) will suffer from one at some point in their lives.

An analysis by the American Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality shows that hospitalisations for eating disorders increased most sharply (119%) for children aged 12 and younger between 1999 to 2006.