Project description
BODY DISSATISFACTION (BD) IS DEFINED AS THE NEGATIVE ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE OWN BODY, AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THE DISCREPANCY BETWEEN OWN APPEARANCE AND THE INTERNALIZATION OF THE PHYSICAL APPEARANCE CONSIDERED IDEAL, AND HIGH RATES OF BD HAVE BEEN REPORTED AMONG THE GENERAL POPULATION, ESPECIALLY WHEN CONSIDERING ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG PEOPLE. ALSO, IT IS WELL KNOWN THAT BD IS A RISK FACTOR FOR THE ONSET OF EATING DISORDERS, WHICH OFTEN CO-OCCUR WITH OTHER PSYCHOPATHOLOGY SYMPTOMS, AND LATER RISKY HEALTH BEHAVIOURS, INCLUDING NON-SUICIDAL SELF-INJURY (NSSI). THE GENERAL OBJECTIVES OF THE PRESENT PROJECT ARE TWO-FOLD: TO ANALYSE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BD, ED RISK, AND NSSI IN ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS, AND TO ANALYSE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE BODY PROJECT PROGRAMME IN A SPANISH SAMPLE OF ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG ADULTSTHE PRESENT STUDY WILL BE DEVELOPED IN TWO PHASES. IN A FIRST PHASE, A WIDE COMMUNITY SAMPLE OF ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS FROM 15 TO 24 YEARS OLD WILL BE INVITED TO RESPOND AN ONLINE SURVEY, INCLUDING SEVERAL QUESTIONNAIRES ASSESSING PSYCHOLOGICAL AND HEALTH-RELATED VARIABLES: BD, DISORDERED EATING, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, NSSI, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS, AS WELL AS A MEASURE TO ASSESS FAMILY PRESSURE FOR WEIGHT CONCERN. PARTICIPANTS WILL BE ASSESSED AT BASELINE AND AT 12-MONTHS FOLLOW-UP, TO ASSESS THE RISK AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS ASSOCIATED TO EATING DISORDERS, NSSI AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS IN THE FOLLOW-UP. IN A SECOND PHASE OF THE STUDY, AN INTERVENTION ON BODY IMAGE WILL BE DELIVERED TO A COMMUNITY SAMPLE OF ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS FROM 15 TO 24 YEARS OLD. BOTH THE INTERVENTION AND CONTROL GROUP WILL BE ASSESSED AT BASELINE AND FOLLOW-UP USING AN ONLINE SURVEY ASSESSING A SET OF PSYCHOLOGICAL VARIABLES RELATED TO BODY IMAGE: BD, SELF-ESTEEM, AND SOCIOCULTURAL PRESSURES FORE WEIGHT. THE STUDY WILL BE APPROVED BY THE ETHICS COMMITTEE FROM THE RAMON LLULL UNIVERSITY, AND PROTECTION OF DATA WILL BE GUARANTEED ACCORDING TO THE ORGANIC LAW 3/2018. THE PRESENT STUDY FOCUSES ON A PARTICULAR VULNERABLE POPULATION, AS ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS, AND AIMS TO WORK TOWARDS PREVENTION OF EATING DISORDERS, NSSI AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS IN THIS WIDE SEGMENT OF THE POPULATION, INVOLVING FAMILIES AND SCHOOLS, WORKING TOWARDS THE IMPROVEMENT OF BODY SATISFACTION. FOR THIS REASON, THE DISSEMINATION OF RESULTS OF THE PRESENT PROJECT WILL BE CONDUCTED AT THREE LEVELS: THROUGH SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS, THROUGH ADDRESSED TO FAMILIES AT HIGH-SCHOOLS, AIMING TO EMPHASIZE THE NEED OF INVOLVING FAMILIES TO WORK TOGETHER FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH IN ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS, BUT ALSO ORGANIZING A WORKSHOP ON BODY DISSATISFACTION ADDRESSED TO UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS, ACADEMICS, AND PROFESSIONALS IN THE HEALTH FIELD, AIMING TO RAISE AWARENESS OF THE NEED OF ADDRESSING BD AS A KEY FACTOR IN MENTAL HEALTH. BODY DISSATISFACTION\NONSUICIDAL SELF-INJURY\EATING DISORDERS\RISK FACTORS\YOUNG ADULTS\ADOLESCENTS