Monkey see monkey do, we love our bodies, do you? A social norms intervention for disordered eating

Abstract

Amid the ongoing ED crisis, millions are affected by eating disorders. More individuals are also affected by subclinical eating disorders, or what we can think of as precursors to eating disorders, such as disordered eating and body dissatisfaction. This effect is not seen in females alone, as older research tended to claim. Men and women alike suffer from these negative affects. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated pathways that contribute to a rise in eating disorder symptomology. The study presented in this thesis presents a social norm intervention to reduce eating disorder symptomology in post-COVID college students, a population particularly hounded by stress and more concrete issues, such as money and time limitations. Social norm interventions have been found to be incredibly effective in reducing unwanted attitudes, intentions, and behaviors, including those pertaining to body image. Participants were recruited from Princeton University to complete an online survey. Results indicated that both female and male students benefitted from the intervention on most of the outcomes of interest. Implications are discussed for how future interventions or programs can build upon this study’s findings.