Effects of being a peer-leader in an eating disorder prevention program: can we further reduce eating disorder risk factors?

Full Abstract

Studies regarding the effect of peer-leadership on peer-leaders in prevention programs remain extremely limited. In this study, 83 undergraduate sorority members, who previously participated in the program, served as peer-leaders for an eating disorder prevention program. Peer-leaders attended 9 hours of training and then led two 2-hour sessions. Leaders showed decreases (beyond participation in earlier studies) in dietary restraint, bulimic pathology, body dissatisfaction, and thin-ideal internalization from pre-training through 7-week follow up. Results from this exploratory study suggest that peer-leaders who participate in a program and subsequently lead it may experience additional benefits compared to participation in the program alone.

Author information

Author/s: Black Becker, Carolyn (C); Bull, Stephanie (S); Smith, Lisa M (LM); Ciao, Anna C (AC);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, Trinity University, One Trinity Place, San Antonio, TX 78212-7200, USA. carolyn.becker(-atsign-)trinity.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Eating disorders (Eat Disord), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: -2008 Oct-Dec; vol 16 (issue 5) : pp 444-59

Dates: Created 2008/09/29; Completed 2009/01/09;

PMID: 18821367, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: 18 Feb 2009 00:00:00)

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