(PS6-B35) A Modified Dissonance-based Eating Disorder Prevention Program Decreases Social Networking Site Use in Young Women

The use of social networking sites (SNSs) is positively associated with eating disorder risk among young women (Appel et al., 2016; de Vries et al., 2016; Mingoia et al., 2017; Smith et al., 2013; Stronge et al., 2015; Tiggemann & Slater, 2013), suggesting that eating disorder prevention programs might target this risk factor, as it might be more malleable than other known risks. The Body Project, a well-researched dissonance-based eating disorder prevention program, has been highly effective in reducing eating disorder risk factors and future onset of eating disorders (Stice et al., 2019). However, current versions of this program do not specifically target SNS use. The purpose of the present study was to test a modified version of the Body Project designed to be delivered in a single, 2-hour session that also promoted healthy SNS use patterns among young women to reduce eating disorder risk.

Method: Female undergraduate students (N = 128) were blindly assigned to a high-dissonance intervention, a low-dissonance intervention, or a no-treatment control group. We utilized a repeated measures design to assess outcomes (i.e., eating disorder symptomology using the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire [EDE-Q] and social networking site use via the Social Network Sites Usage Questionnaire [SNSQ]) between conditions and across time from baseline to 1-month follow-up.

Findings: There were small but significant correlations between the SNSQ Interactive subscale scores and the EDE-Q weight concern (r = .22, p = .015) and global scores (r = .18, p = .04), which is a finding consistent with previous studies. A 2 (Time: baseline, 1-month follow-up) x 3 (Condition: high-dissonance, low-dissonance, no-treatment control) repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) assessed differential change in outcomes between conditions. There was a significant Time x Condition interaction, Wilks’ Λ = .85, F(8, 244) = 2.59, p = .01; follow-up analyses indicated participants in both active conditions experienced significant decreases in eating disorder symptomology, as well as in multiple facets of SNS use across time. High-dissonance participants also demonstrated reduced basic usage of SNSs relative to controls from baseline to 1-month follow-up.

Implications: Findings from this preliminary examination of a modification of the Body Project suggest that a single session, 2-hour version that also targeted SNS use significantly reduced eating disorder symptomology and SNS use across time among a group of undergraduate women with varying degrees of eating disorder risk. Results are promising in that they suggest minimal exposure to this intervention can produce positive effects which may enhance the feasibility and accessibility of eating disorder prevention options for college students. Interestingly, this program reduced participants’ interactive use of SNSs (e.g., posting pictures, editing images) which is the facet of SNS use that has been shown to be most detrimental to the mental health of young women (Mingoia et al., 2017). Future studies should utilize larger, more diverse samples and to expand the content of this intervention to include more dissonance-based exercises designed to specifically address maladaptive SNS use among young women.