Decreasing Body Dissatisfaction in Male College Athletes: A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Male Athlete Body Project

NCT ID: NCT04077177

Last Updated: 2020-09-28

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 83 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2019-02-15
• Study Completion Date: 2020-03-20

Brief Summary

Body Dissatisfaction (BD) is associated with marked distress and often precipitates disordered eating symptomology (Milligan & Pritchard, 2006). BD in male athletes is an important area to explore, as research in this field often focuses on eating disorders in female athletes (e.g., Becker et al., 2012; Varnes et al., 2013). The current body of literature regarding male college athletes suggests that they experience pressures associated with both societal muscular ideals and sport performance (Galli et al., 2015). While there is a clear association between drive for muscularity and BD in collegiate male athletes (Galli et al., 2015), no study to date has conducted research aimed to attenuate the effect of BD in this population. The current study seeks to investigate a BD intervention for male college athletes. Participants will be randomized to an adapted version of the standardized Female Athlete Body Project (i.e., the Male Athlete Body Project) or an assessment only control condition. All participants will complete baseline and post-treatment measures of BD, negative affect, internalization of an athletic ideal, drive for muscularity, sport confidence, eating pathology, and unhealthy weight-control behaviors. Study aims are to determine if the Male Athlete Body Project intervention group reduces BD and related factors post-treatment, and to investigate whether these differences are maintained at 1-month follow up. Results will inform mental health and sport clinicians, coaches, and other personnel involved in an athlete's care about successful strategies for decreasing BD.

Conditions

Health Behavior

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Assessment Only

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Intervention

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Male Athlete Body Project

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Participants who meet eligibility criteria and consent to the study will be randomized to one of two conditions: intervention condition (i.e., Male Athlete Body Project) or an assessment only control condition. The intervention groups will take place at IIT. Participants who accept randomization to condition will complete baseline questionnaires after randomization (immediately prior to Session 1 in the intervention condition and after being randomized to the assessment only control condition). Questionnaires will be repeated immediately post-intervention (intervention condition)/after a 3-week interval (control). All participants will be asked to complete the questionnaires again, 4 weeks after the previous round of questionnaires. The 3, 80-minute group sessions will be separated by 1 week.

Interventions

Male Athlete Body Project

Participants who meet eligibility criteria and consent to the study will be randomized to one of two conditions: intervention condition (i.e., Male Athlete Body Project) or an assessment only control condition. The intervention groups will take place at IIT. Participants who accept randomization to condition will complete baseline questionnaires after randomization (immediately prior to Session 1 in the intervention condition and after being randomized to the assessment only control condition). Questionnaires will be repeated immediately post-intervention (intervention condition)/after a 3-week interval (control). All participants will be asked to complete the questionnaires again, 4 weeks after the previous round of questionnaires. The 3, 80-minute group sessions will be separated by 1 week.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Male
• member of a university-sponsored varsity athletic team
• over age 18

Exclusion Criteria

• NONE

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 50 Years
• Eligible Sex: MALE
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

DePaul University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Illinois Institute of Technology

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Locations

Illinois Institute of Technology

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Countries

United States

References

Perelman H, Schwartz N, Yeoward-Dodson J, Quinones IC, Murray MF, Dougherty EN, Townsel R, Arthur-Cameselle J, Haedt-Matt AA. Reducing eating disorder risk among male athletes: A randomized controlled trial investigating the male athlete body project. Int J Eat Disord. 2022 Feb;55(2):193-206. doi: 10.1002/eat.23665. Epub 2022 Jan 17.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 35037275 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

IllinoisIT

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id