Evaluating the effectiveness of the Body Project as a whole-class, positive body image intervention in Irish post-primary schools

Abstract

Background: The Body Project is a cognitive dissonance-based eating disorder prevention programme developed by Stice et al. (2006). Aims: The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Body Project as a universal, whole-class, positive body image intervention in co-educational Irish post-primary schools. Sample: Two Transition Year class groups (N=34) participated in this study. This comprised n=18 males, n=15 females, and n=1 participant who did not disclose their gender. Methods: One class group (n=17) received the 4-week Body Project intervention adapted for universal, whole-class, mixed-gender delivery. The other class group (n=17) were waitlisted for intervention. Participants completed questionnaires at baseline and post-intervention to measure changes in appearance ideal internalisation and body appreciation. Additionally, the participants in the intervention group rated their enjoyment of the programme using a 5-point Likert scale. Results: Findings indicate that the Body Project did not effectively reduce appearance ideal internalisation (p> .05) from baseline to post-test and the Body Project did not effectively increase body appreciation (p> .05) from baseline to post-test. Participants enjoyed the intervention (M= 4.12, SD=6.00). Conclusions: This research contributes to the literature as it is an independent study evaluating the effectiveness of the Body Project. It is the first to explore the effectiveness of the Body Project as a whole-class, universal, mixed-gender intervention, and the first to evaluate the Body Project in the Irish cultural context. Findings indicate that the Body Project is not effective as a universal, whole-class, positive body image intervention in co-educational Irish post-primary schools. Implications for the field of Educational and Child Psychology are discussed with reference to policy, practice, and future research directions.