Adolescent and young adult women's opinions of common eating disorder prevention messages. Issue 3 (27th May 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Mills, Jennifer S.; Vu, Nicole; Manley, Ron; Tse, Shasha
• Is Part Of: Eating disorders. Volume 25:Issue 3(2017)
• Page Start: 246
• Page End: 262
• Publication Date: 2017-05-27
• Subjects: Eating disorders -- Treatment -- Periodicals; Eating disorders -- Prevention -- Periodicals; 616.8526
• DOI: 10.1080/10640266.2016.1269549
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1064-0266

Abstract

ABSTRACT: We examined young women's opinions of five common eating disorder (ED) prevention themes in terms of persuasiveness and impact on behavioral intentions. Video-taped prevention themes were rated by female adolescents and young adults (ages 13–25) with and without eating disorders. Overall, younger participants found the prevention messages less persuasive than older participants. Controlling for age, clinical participants found the messages to be less persuasive than did non-clinical participants. Clinical participants reported no change in their behavioral intentions after watching the videos, whereas non-clinical participants reported a lower intention to diet and make body comparisons after viewing the messages. Presenter ratings (attractiveness, credibility, thinness) also positively predicted individuals' opinions of the messages. The findings suggest that younger adolescents and women who already display signs of disordered eating may be hard to persuade through ED prevention messages, and further research is needed to improve their impact among these groups.