Comparing Online and Face-to-Face Dissonance-Based Eating Disorder Prevention

Disordered eating behavior is common in college women. Thus, it is important to develop programs to reduce eating disorder (ED) risk. Studies suggest that dissonance-based (DB) prevention programs successfully reduce ED risk factors; however, face-to-face DB groups lack anonymity and convenience. One way to address these barriers is to adapt DB programs for online use. Few studies have examined the feasibility of this delivery mode. This study compared the efficacy of an online DB program with a face-to-face DB program and an assessment-only condition. Undergraduate women (N = 333) recruited from a participant pool at a public university in the mid-Atlantic United States participated (n = 107 face-to-face DB, n = 112 online DB, n = 114 assessment-only). It was hypothesized that: (a) participants in the face-to-face and online DB conditions would report greater decreases in thin-ideal internalization, body dissatisfaction, and ED symptoms at post-testing relative to participants in the assessment-only control group, and (b) online and face-to-face programs would yield comparable results. Modified intent-to-treat analyses indicated that participants in both conditions manifested less body dissatisfaction at post-test compared with assessment-only participants; there were no significant differences in outcomes between the two modes of program delivery. These findings indicate that DB ED prevention programs can be successfully adapted for online use. Future studies should continue to refine online adaptations of such programs and examine their effects with samples that include older and younger women, and men.