To address gaps in universal, diversity-focused eating disorders prevention with early adolescents through a community-engaged body image intervention.
Approach:
Key Findings:
Moderate overall student satisfaction with higher satisfaction among students of color, sexually diverse students, and cisgender girls and gender diverse students.
Significant reduction in unhealthy weight control behaviors from baseline to two-month follow-up, with smaller reductions for students of color compared to white peers.
Reduction in internalized appearance norms was significant only for white and straight students.
Students of color experienced improvement in perceived appearance pressure from social media over time, unlike other subgroups.
Interpretation:
The Body Justice curriculum was effectively delivered and well-received, particularly among students with marginalized identities, though results varied across identity subgroups.
Limitations:
Subgroup analyses may lack adequate power, warranting cautious interpretation.
No overall improvement in perceived appearance pressure from social media across the sample.
Conclusion:
The findings suggest the need for collaborative school-based research and community-engaged methods to foster equity in body image and eating disorders prevention.
