Dissonance prevention program decreases thin-ideal internalization, body dissatisfaction, dieting, negative affect, and bulimic symptoms: A preliminary experiment

OBJECTIVE: Because psychoeducational primary prevention programs for eating disorders have met with little success, this preliminary experiment tested a dissonance-based targeted preventive intervention. METHOD: Female undergraduates (N = 30) with elevated body image concerns were assigned to a three-session intervention, wherein they voluntarily argued against the thin ideal, or a delayed-intervention control condition. Participants completed a baseline, termination, and a 1-month follow-up survey. RESULTS: The intervention resulted in a subsequent decrease in thin-ideal internalization, body dissatisfaction, dieting, negative affect, and bulimic symptomatology, with most changes remaining at the 1-month follow-up. DISCUSSION: These preliminary results suggest that this dissonance-based targeted prevention intervention reduces bulimic pathology and known risk factors for eating disturbances, and provide experimental support for the claim that thin-ideal internalization contributes to body dissatisfaction, dieting, negative affect, and bulimic symptoms.