Increasing Motivation to Reduce Restriction

NCT ID: NCT06598111

Last Updated: 2024-09-19

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 126 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2023-01-18
• Study Completion Date: 2024-03-05

Brief Summary

The goal of this experiment is to learn how to effectively increase motivation to reduce dietary restriction among young adults engaging in clinically significant restrictive eating. The main questions this study aims to answer are:

• Does imagining a future without restrictive eating increase motivation to reduce restrictive eating?
• Does imagining a future without restrictive eating reduce actual restrictive eating behavior?
• Is it more motivating to think about long-term benefits of reducing dietary restriction, or to focus on short-term consequences of dietary restriction?

Researchers will compare (1) amplifying the possible benefits of reducing restrictive eating, (2) amplifying the negative consequences of restrictive eating, or (3) both is more effective for increasing motivation to reduce dietary restriction over a one-week period.

Participants will:

• Complete daily measures of eating disorder symptoms and motivation for 7 days
• Write a narrative describing a day in the future without restrictive eating and read this narrative aloud daily for 7 days
• Be presented with information regarding the negative consequences of dietary restriction daily for 7 days

Detailed Description

This study tests whether amplifying the potential benefits of reducing dietary restriction and/or consequences of maintaining dietary restriction increases motivation to address disordered (i.e., restrictive) eating among college students. This is an online study with a between-groups experimental design which takes place over the course of one week. All study procedures are completed online.

Participants are randomized to one of four conditions: Amplified Benefits & Consequences, Amplified Benefits, Amplified Consequences, or a control condition. Baseline measures are completed on the first day of study enrollment, following randomization to experimental condition. Over the subsequent six days, participants receive daily surveys via email every 24 hours and are given 24 hours to complete each survey. In every condition, participants complete daily self-report measures. Depending on condition, participants also completed the following manipulations:

• Amplified Benefits and Consequences condition: Participants are prompted to write a brief, detailed narrative describing a day in their future if they did not restrict their caloric intake and were not concerned about their body weight or shape. Participants type their responses and provide a recording of themselves reading their narrative aloud. On each subsequent day, participants are provided with their written narrative and asked to create a new recording of themselves reading it aloud. After completing their recording and surveys, participants complete a modified version of the Pros and Cons of Anorexia Scale to amplify the negative consequences of restrictive eating. Next, they read a brief informational blurb about the negative health consequences of restrictive eating.
• Amplified Benefits condition: Participants receive the same narrative prompt and recording instructions as participants in the Amplified Benefits & Consequences condition. They are not asked to complete the modified PCAN or presented with blurbs about the consequences of restrictive eating.
• Amplified Consequences condition: Participants in the Amplified Consequences condition are not prompted to write or record a narrative. After completing daily surveys, they complete the modified PCAN and are presented with blurbs about the consequences of restrictive eating.
• Control condition: Participants write a brief narrative nearly identical Amplified Benefits manipulation; however, their prompt instead asks them to consider a future free of concern about finances. Participants type their narrative and record themselves reading it aloud. Each day, participants create a new recording. Participants in the control condition do not complete the modified PCAN and are not provided with informational blurbs.

Conditions

Restrictive Eating

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: OTHER
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Amplified Benefits and Consequences

On the first day of the study (day 0), participants in the Amplified Benefits \& Consequences condition write a brief, detailed narrative describing a day in their future if they did not restrict their caloric intake and were not concerned about their body weight or shape. Participants type their responses and provide a recording of themselves reading their narrative aloud. On each subsequent day (day 1 through day 6), participants are provided with their written narrative and asked to create a new recording of themselves reading it aloud. After completing their recording and surveys, participants complete a modified version of the Pros and Cons of Anorexia Scale.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Amplified Benefits

Intervention Type: OTHER

Participants write a brief, detailed narrative describing a day in their future if they did not restrict their caloric intake and were not concerned about their body weight or shape.

Amplified Consequences

Intervention Type: OTHER

Participants complete the Pros and Cons of Anorexia scale to amplify the consequences of restrictive eating. They are also presented with blurbs about the consequences of restrictive eating.

Amplified Benefits

On the first day of the study (day 0), participants in the Amplified Benefits condition write a brief, detailed narrative describing a day in their future if they did not restrict their caloric intake and were not concerned about their body weight or shape. Participants type their responses and provide a recording of themselves reading their narrative aloud. On each subsequent day (day 1 through day 6), participants are provided with their written narrative and asked to create a new recording of themselves reading it aloud.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Amplified Benefits

Intervention Type: OTHER

Participants write a brief, detailed narrative describing a day in their future if they did not restrict their caloric intake and were not concerned about their body weight or shape.

Amplified Consequences

On each day of the study, participants in the Amplified Consequences condition complete the modified Pros and Cons of Anorexia scale and are presented with blurbs about the consequences of restrictive eating.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Amplified Consequences

Intervention Type: OTHER

Participants complete the Pros and Cons of Anorexia scale to amplify the consequences of restrictive eating. They are also presented with blurbs about the consequences of restrictive eating.

Control

Participants in the control condition write a brief narrative considering a future free of concern about finances. As with the active conditions, participants type their narrative on day 0 and record themselves reading it aloud each day.

Group Type: PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Control

Intervention Type: OTHER

Participants write a brief narrative considering a future free of concern about finances.

Interventions

Amplified Benefits

Participants write a brief, detailed narrative describing a day in their future if they did not restrict their caloric intake and were not concerned about their body weight or shape.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Amplified Consequences

Participants complete the Pros and Cons of Anorexia scale to amplify the consequences of restrictive eating. They are also presented with blurbs about the consequences of restrictive eating.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Control

Participants write a brief narrative considering a future free of concern about finances.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• At least 18 years of age
• Undergraduate student
• Fluent in English
• Engaging in dietary restriction

Exclusion Criteria

• Engaging in binge eating
• Unable to consent
• Not yet an adult
• Currently pregnant
• Prisoner status

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Florida State University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Lauren Harris

Principal Investigator

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

Florida State University

Tallahassee, Florida, United States

Countries

United States

Provided Documents

Document Type: Informed Consent Form

View Document

Other Identifiers

STUDY00003465

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id