General Questions
Where did the program originate?
The Body Project Peer Educator Study represents a collaborative effort by several different investigators. Dr. Eric Stice, conducted the original research investigating the efficacy of dissonance-based interventions on preventing eating disorder onset. Dr. Carolyn Becker then adapted this program for use with peer intervention groups. You can find out more about the role specific individuals played in the development of the program by visiting this page.
Who is conducting the study?
The study is being conducted by lead investigator and Body Project pioneer Dr. Eric Stice, along with his team at the Oregon Research Institute in Eugene, Oregon. Also involved are a team of co-investigators situated in various locations around the country, including Dr. Carolyn Becker, who designed and implemented initial trials of the peer implementation design. Please see this page for more information about the team involved in this project.
How do I get involved?
You can get involved by contacting Lindsey, our study coordinator, here.
Where can I find more information about the Body Project?
You can read about the benefits of participating in this study by clicking here. If you would like additional information about the Body Project itself, you may also visit this website.
What is the relationship between this study and eating disorder prevention?
Although the original dissonance-based intervention style utilized in this study was framed specifically as a prevention for eating disorders, the program has since been re-framed to focus more on body image in general, with the idea that this approach is more likely to capture more individuals whose body image concerns put them at risk for developing an eating disorder, but may be less likely to attend an intervention explicitly targeting this stigmatized group.
How would this study impact the programs my school already has in place?
This study is not intending to replace or detract from any resource currently offered by your institution. We will simply be providing you with the additional support and training necessary to add a compelling new intervention to your toolkit while you provide us with data to make this program and others like it even more effective in the future.
About the Study
How is a peer educator program defined? Does my school's program qualify?
We recommend an active program with a designated, employed staff coordinator. We recognize that the coordinator may not be assigned to the peer educator program full time; part time is okay. The program would ideally have an active core of students showing that the program is alive and well. Although we consider a peer educator program that focuses on health optimal, it is fine to extend an existing academic peer educator program (e.g., an active peer tutor program). Feel free to contact us if you have any questions about whether your peer education program is a good fit for the study.
Do we have to focus on women, or can all students participate?
At this point in time the Peer Body Project is a female-targeted intervention. This means that we recommend you recruit female students to participate in the groups. This is because the great majority of our research was with female-only groups, and recent studies conducted by Dr. Carolyn Becker’s lab at Trinity University have indicated that mixed-gender groups are significantly less effective for the female participants.
However... It is not a requirement for peer educators leading the groups to identify as female. It is not even an inflexible requirement for all participants identify as female. While we certainly recommend targeting your recruitment efforts toward female students, it is fine with us if a few motivated male/trans/non-binary students would also like to participate in the groups. We actually had one of our participating schools come up with a creative solution to this by indicating that “These groups are open to people of all genders who are impacted by feminine standards of beauty.”
We acknowledge that there is a need for interventions tailored to the body image concerns of students of other gender identities, and we are actively working to create different versions of the Body Project for these students. We have researchers in the early stages of testing new programs. For this current nation-wide study, we are drawing upon over a decade of research to train peer education groups in the most effective and evidence-based eating disorder prevention program currently available.
Once you get the basic program up and running we would be happy to connect with you about opportunities to pilot test some of these new programs. The bottom line is that we want to help all students with body image concerns feel better about themselves and adopt a healthier perspective; the version we are implementing as part of the Peer Body Project is well-studied and shown to be very effective. We hope to say the same about the other versions soon!
However... It is not a requirement for peer educators leading the groups to identify as female. It is not even an inflexible requirement for all participants identify as female. While we certainly recommend targeting your recruitment efforts toward female students, it is fine with us if a few motivated male/trans/non-binary students would also like to participate in the groups. We actually had one of our participating schools come up with a creative solution to this by indicating that “These groups are open to people of all genders who are impacted by feminine standards of beauty.”
We acknowledge that there is a need for interventions tailored to the body image concerns of students of other gender identities, and we are actively working to create different versions of the Body Project for these students. We have researchers in the early stages of testing new programs. For this current nation-wide study, we are drawing upon over a decade of research to train peer education groups in the most effective and evidence-based eating disorder prevention program currently available.
Once you get the basic program up and running we would be happy to connect with you about opportunities to pilot test some of these new programs. The bottom line is that we want to help all students with body image concerns feel better about themselves and adopt a healthier perspective; the version we are implementing as part of the Peer Body Project is well-studied and shown to be very effective. We hope to say the same about the other versions soon!
When will the study begin?
We are currently in the preliminary stages, and actively recruiting colleges. Feel free to contact us if you would like to get involved!
How long will the program last?
We will be following the peer education groups for two years to collect data for this study. However, we have designed the programs to be largely self-sustaining once implemented, so that if your campus would like to continue to provide this opportunity to your students once our study has ended you may feel free to do so.
What if my school does not qualify? Can I still get involved?
Feel free to contact us to find out more about how the program could fit into your school, or more information about how you can get involved.
Logistical Questions
Do we need to screen peer educators?
No, you are not required to screen peer educators. This decision will be left up to the school to determine based in individual campus climate and preference. If you choose to screen we can provide you with suggestions. However, if you choose to not screen, we do still encourage you to ask students to self-screen. You can do this by thanking prospective peer educators for their interest and then explain that they need to be prepared to “walk the walk” in terms of body positive behaviors. Thus, while it is perfectly fine to have normative body image concerns (i.e., you don’t expect them to have perfect body image), if they have an active eating disorder or significant body image concerns, it is better to address those before becoming a peer educator.
Do we need to screen participants?
No, you are not required to screen participants. Some schools choose to run the program with participants who have been screened to make sure they have body image concerns. Other schools choose to just advertise that the groups are for women with body image concerns. Some subpopulations in some schools have semi-required participation (e.g., some sororities). All methods are acceptable.
Should we market the program as an eating disorder prevention program or a body image program?
Although you may find it helpful to present the Body Project to administrators as a body image program that prevents eating disorders, we recommend that the program be publicly framed as simply a body image program for several reasons. For one thing, relatively few people walk through their daily lives expecting that that they will develop an eating disorder. Thus, most will not think they need an eating disorders prevention program. In contrast, many young women know that they struggle with body image concerns. Additionally, eating disorders are associated with a certain degree of stigma, and you can avoid this stigma by focusing on the fact that the Body Project directly targets body image.