In the Mirror: Functional Appreciated Bodies (IM FAB)

NCT ID: NCT04118972

Last Updated: 2023-12-12

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

275 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2018-04-01

Study Completion Date

2021-12-01

Brief Summary

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The current project aims to examine the concept of promoting attention toward body functionality and gratitude using a weekly functionality-based mirror exposure and body functionality gratitude "journaling" text prompts three days a week for three weeks to examine whether this helps foster positive body image and decrease eating disorder symptoms in a sample of undergraduate females, a population at particularly high risk of body image dissatisfaction and consequent eating disorder development.

Detailed Description

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Specific Aim 1. First, the project aims to test a gratitude-based body functionality primary prevention program, In the Mirror: Functional Appreciated Bodies (IM FAB), that incorporates mirror exposure with a greater intervention "dose" than that piloted by Brooks and Walker. The increased dose should allow for greater ability for participants to consolidate exposure-based learning. Specifically, more time instructed to appreciate the body's functionality allows for more occasions to redirect critical appearance-oriented cognitions to appreciative, function-based cognitions.

Specific Aim 2. Second, the project aims to pilot test a relatively minimalistic intervention that would be easily translated to app-based delivery format, to help overcome the most-cited barriers to prevention program participation noted by undergraduate students in universal prevention research. Specifically, undergraduate participants who were assigned to a prevention program but did not enroll questioned a need for counseling/therapy, reported preferring to deal with issues on their own, and cited a lack of time as reasons they did not enroll.

Specific Aim 3. Third, the project aims to test this specific functionality mirror exposure approach largely on its own, rather than as part of a multicomponent treatment program, so that its unique contribution in preventing body image dissatisfaction, and ultimately eating disorders, can be assessed. A main goal in prevention and treatment development remains to continuously test components of body-image interventions separately for efficacy.

Conditions

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Eating Disorder Symptom Body Image Disturbance

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Participants are randomly assigned to one of two active conditions or a control group.
Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Investigators
Participants are blinded to their study conditions. Investigators are aware of the study conditions but are not present for or delivering the active portions of the intervention directly. Participants in either active condition receive digitally delivered interventions.

Study Groups

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Functionality Mirror Exposure & Journal

A text-based functionality gratitude "journaling" prompt three times weekly paired with three weeks of weekly functionality-based guided mirror exposure sessions in the lab (the IM FAB program)

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Mirror exposure and text prompt responses

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Participants in the active interventions have three weekly mirror exposure sessions that are either guided with specific instructions as to where to look and how (only in functionality condition)

Pure Mirror Exposure & Gratitude Journal

Thrice weekly generic (non body-focused) gratitude text prompts and pure mirror exposure in the lab. Participants are not given instructions on how to examine body parts, only instructed to examine the same specific body parts as the Functionality group to control specifically for impacts of the body functionality focus.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Mirror exposure and text prompt responses

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Participants in the active interventions have three weekly mirror exposure sessions that are either guided with specific instructions as to where to look and how (only in functionality condition)

Assessment only control

Assessments at Week 1, Week 3, and 1- and 4-month follow-ups, identical to those received by participants in the active condition

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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Mirror exposure and text prompt responses

Participants in the active interventions have three weekly mirror exposure sessions that are either guided with specific instructions as to where to look and how (only in functionality condition)

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Undergraduate female aged 18-23 years.

Exclusion Criteria

* Self-definition as having an active eating disorder
* Participation in the Body Project
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

FEMALE

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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University at Albany

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Union College, New York

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Catherine Walker

Visiting Assistant Professor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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D. Catherine Walker

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Union College

Locations

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University at Albany, State University of New York

Albany, New York, United States

Site Status

Union College

Schenectady, New York, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Cash TF, Fleming EC, Alindogan J, Steadman L, Whitehead A. Beyond body image as a trait: the development and validation of the Body Image States Scale. Eat Disord. 2002 Summer;10(2):103-13. doi: 10.1080/10640260290081678.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 16864251 (View on PubMed)

Cash TF, Green GK. Body weight and body image among college women: perception, cognition, and affect. J Pers Assess. 1986 Summer;50(2):290-301. doi: 10.1207/s15327752jpa5002_15.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 3761129 (View on PubMed)

Tylka TL, Wood-Barcalow NL. The Body Appreciation Scale-2: item refinement and psychometric evaluation. Body Image. 2015 Jan;12:53-67. doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2014.09.006. Epub 2014 Oct 21.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 25462882 (View on PubMed)

Reas DL, Whisenhunt BL, Netemeyer R, Williamson DA. Development of the body checking questionnaire: a self-report measure of body checking behaviors. Int J Eat Disord. 2002 Apr;31(3):324-33. doi: 10.1002/eat.10012.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 11920995 (View on PubMed)

Alleva JM, Tylka TL, Kroon Van Diest AM. The Functionality Appreciation Scale (FAS): Development and psychometric evaluation in U.S. community women and men. Body Image. 2017 Dec;23:28-44. doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2017.07.008. Epub 2017 Aug 17.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28822275 (View on PubMed)

Stice E, Telch CF, Rizvi SL. Development and validation of the Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale: a brief self-report measure of anorexia, bulimia, and binge-eating disorder. Psychol Assess. 2000 Jun;12(2):123-31. doi: 10.1037//1040-3590.12.2.123.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 10887758 (View on PubMed)

Stice E, Fisher M, Martinez E. Eating disorder diagnostic scale: additional evidence of reliability and validity. Psychol Assess. 2004 Mar;16(1):60-71. doi: 10.1037/1040-3590.16.1.60.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 15023093 (View on PubMed)

Froh JJ, Fan J, Emmons RA, Bono G, Huebner ES, Watkins P. Measuring gratitude in youth: assessing the psychometric properties of adult gratitude scales in children and adolescents. Psychol Assess. 2011 Jun;23(2):311-24. doi: 10.1037/a0021590.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 21443367 (View on PubMed)

Provided Documents

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Document Type: Informed Consent Form

View Document

Other Identifiers

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UnionC

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id