Body Image Disturbance, Disordered Eating Behaviors, Eating Disorder Prevention
Conditions
Keywords
Adolescents, Disordered Eating Behaviors, Eating Disorder Symptoms, Eating Pathology, Eating disorder Prevention, Body Image, Body Image Disturbance, Digital Mental Health, Chatbot
Brief summary
The purpose of this study is to test an eating disorders prevention digital chatbot program in a diverse group of adolescents.
Detailed description
Eating disorders (EDs) are impacting youth at extreme rates, with up to 22% of adolescents reporting ED symptoms, and are associated with very high psychiatric comorbidity. Since adolescence is a critical period for the onset of eating disorders, prevention during this stage is essential to reducing lifetime prevalence. Interventions have been developed to prevent the onset of these devastating disorders, but these programs are generally not publicly available and rarely offer support for addressing comorbidity or the unique needs of vulnerable subpopulations (e.g., low-income populations, sexual and gender minorities, racial/ethnic minorities, those from rural areas), who are even less likely to have access to high-quality care. One scalable, engaging, easy-to use, and convenient approach to increasing access to evidence-based EDs prevention for underserved groups involves using a chatbot. This project will adapt our team's existing EDs prevention chatbot for use with adolescents, including those from diverse backgrounds, and evaluate its effectiveness. Our deep industry and non-profit partnerships will ensure scalability and ultimate real-world impact.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALWysa Digital Chatbot Program
Wysa is a digital rules-based chatbot program platform offering cognitive-behavioral therapy-based guided self-help modules, including five modules for eating and body image developed by our team. Participants in this arm will engage with the digital chatbot program daily for three months to complete all five modules.
Sponsors
Washington University School of Medicine
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
13 Years to 19 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
1. 13 - 19 years old 2. Owns a smartphone 3. Speaks English 4. US resident 5. Screens as at-risk for an eating disorder 6. Not currently in treatment for an eating disorder
Exclusion criteria
1. Below 13 or older than 19 years of age 2. Does not own a smartphone 3. Does not speak English 4. Lives outside the US 5. Screens as: 1. Having a subclinical or clinical ED 2. Not at risk for an ED 3. In treatment for an ED
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ED risk factors; Weight Concerns Scale | 6 - months | Weight concerns scale as found in the Stanford Washington Eating Disorder (SWED) screen is a 5-item validated self-report questionnaire which measures concern with weight and dieting. Each item is scored on a 5-100 scale, then an average is computed across all 5 items for a 0-100 score. |
Countries
United States
Contacts
CONTACTMireya De Los Reyes, B.S/B.A.
CONTACTMarianna Mohr, B.S./B.A.
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOREllen Fitzsimmons-Craft, PhD
Washington University School of Medicine
Outcome results
None listed