Female participants with weight and shape concerns will either receive a six-week meaning-centered intervention led by a trainer or be allocated to a waitlist condition. They will receive the same questionnaires at three time points: Before the intervention, immediately after, and four weeks later. The researchers hypothesize that a meaning-centered intervention for young women with weight and shape issues will increase participants meaning in life and decrease their eating disorder symptoms immediately after the intervention and at 4-week follow-up when compared to a waitlist condition.
Female first-year psychology students at the University of Groningen will be screened for weight and shape concerns. Those scoring in the clinically relevant range will be invited to participate in the study. After filling out the baseline measures online, the participants will be randomly allocated to a waitlist or an intervention condition. Participants in the intervention condition will follow a weekly 1-hour online intervention with a trainer for six weeks, including homework assignments. In this intervention, the aim is to increase meaning in life and decrease eating disorder symptoms. All study materials will be offered in English, Dutch, or German. Immediately after the intervention and four weeks later, the participants will receive the same questionnaires again as at baseline. The waitlist participants will not receive any intervention during the six-week period between baseline and post-assessment, but receive the same questionnaires in the same timeframe. Waitlist participants will also have the option to receive the intervention after the study has been finished.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
166
* adapted version of the manualized meaning-centered psychotherapy for cancer patients developed by van der Spek et al. (2017) * six weekly individual online sessions, each lasting one hour * sessions led by a certified trainer * four sources of meaning will be explored: personal life story, dealing with life's limitations, creating one's own life, and meaningful experiences * homework assignments designed to deepen participants' experience and reflection on meaning in their daily lives
University of Groningen
Groningen, Netherlands
Meaning in life
Presence of meaning in life subscale of Meaning in Life Questionnaire (Steger et al., 2006); average of 5 items with 7-point Likert scale (minimum: 1; maximum 7); the higher the score, the higher the presence of life meaning
Time frame: Baseline (week 1), post-assessment (week 7), follow-up (week 11)
Tripartite domain of meaning in life: Comprehension
Comprehension subscale of Multidimensional Existential Meaning Measure (George \& Park, 2016); average of 5 items on 7-point Likert scale (minimum: 1; maximum: 7); the higher the score, the higher the sense of Comprehension
Time frame: Baseline (week 1), post-assessment (week 7), follow-up (week 11)
Tripartite domain of meaning in life: Purpose
Purpose subscale of Multidimensional Existential Meaning Measure (George \& Park, 2016); average of 5 items on 7-point Likert scale (minimum: 1; maximum: 7); the higher the score, the higher the sense of Purpose
Time frame: Baseline (week 1), post-assessment (week 7), follow-up (week 11)
Tripartite domain of meaning in life: Mattering
Mattering subscale of Multidimensional Existential Meaning Measure (George \& Park, 2016); average of 5 items on 7-point Likert scale (minimum: 1; maximum: 7); the higher the score, the higher the sense of Mattering
Time frame: Baseline (week 1), post-assessment (week 7), follow-up (week 11)
Eating disorder symptoms
Global score of Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (Fairburn \& Beglin, 2008); average score of 22 items on a 7-point Likert scale (minimum: 0; maximum: 6); the higher the score, the more severe the eating disorder symptomatology
Time frame: Baseline (week 1), post-assessment (week 7), follow-up (week 11)
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.
Internalizing symptoms
Total score of Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (Lovibond \& Lovibond, 1995); sum score of 21 items on a 4-point Likert scale (minimum: 0; maximum: 63); the higher the score, the more severe the internalizing symptomatology
Time frame: Baseline (week 1), post-assessment (week 7), follow-up (week 11)
Depressive symptoms
Depression subscale of Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (Lovibond \& Lovibond, 1995); sum score of 7 items on a 4-point Likert scale (minimum: 0; maximum: 21); the higher the score, the more severe the depressive symptomatology
Time frame: Baseline (week 1), post-assessment (week 7), follow-up (week 11)
Anxiety symptoms
Anxiety subscale of Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (Lovibond \& Lovibond, 1995); sum score of 7 items on a 4-point Likert scale (minimum: 0; maximum: 21); the higher the score, the more severe the anxiety symptoms
Time frame: Baseline (week 1), post-assessment (week 7), follow-up (week 11)
Stress symptoms
Stress subscale of Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (Lovibond \& Lovibond, 1995); sum score of 7 items on a 4-point Likert scale (minimum: 0; maximum: 21); the higher the score, the more severe the stress symptoms
Time frame: Baseline (week 1), post-assessment (week 7), follow-up (week 11)