Digital Bodies : A controlled evaluation of a brief classroom‐based intervention for reducing negative body image among adolescents in the digital age
Abstract
Background: A growing body of research has linked social media use to negative body image. Aims: The present research aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Digital Bodies, a brief classroom‐based intervention that aims to improve adolescents’ body image. Methods: British adolescents ( N = 290; Age M = 12.81; SD = 0.40; Range = 12–13; Female = 151) were cluster randomized to intervention or waiting list control groups. Measures of body satisfaction, appearance ideal internalization (thin and athletic ideal internalization) and self‐objectification were completed at baseline (T1), 1‐week post‐intervention (T2) and 8‐week follow‐up (T3). Results: Multi‐level modelling showed adolescents in the intervention group reported improved body satisfaction at T2, in comparison to the control, and crucially this effect was sustained at T3. Additionally, girls reported less thin ideal internalization at T2 relative to the control, but this effect was not sustained at T3. No other intervention effects were found. Conclusions: Overall, the findings provide initial support for the efficacy of Digital Bodies as an intervention for improving adolescents’ body satisfaction.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Prior social media literacy intervention studies were limited by their brief (or lack of) follow-up assessments, and only one included adolescent boys.
“However, these studies were limited by their brief (or lack of) follow-up assessments, and only one [55] included adolescent boys.”
Cites
Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences
Cohen, J. (2013) · doi:10.4324/9780203771587 · Cited by 25,373 · see citing works
Objectification Theory: Toward Understanding Women's Lived Experiences and Mental Health Risks
Fredrickson, B. L., & Roberts, T.-A. (1997) · Psychology of Women Quarterly · doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.1997.tb00108.x · Cited by 5,531 · see citing works
Implementation intentions and goal achievement: a meta-analysis of effects and processes
Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2006) · Advances in Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(06)38002-1 · Cited by 3,236 · see citing works
Exacting beauty: Theory, assessment, and treatment of body image disturbance.
Thompson, J. K., Heinberg, L. J., Altabe, M., & Tantleff-Dunn, S. (1999) · doi:10.1037/10312-000 · Cited by 3,100 · see citing works
Is Adolescence a Sensitive Period for Sociocultural Processing?
Blakemore, S.-J., & Mills, K. L. (2014) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-010213-115202 · Cited by 2,264 · see citing works
It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens
Jessica Vitak, B. (2014) · Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media · doi:10.1080/08838151.2014.935944 · Cited by 1,397 · see citing works
Holland, G., & Tiggemann, M. (2016) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2016.02.008 · Cited by 1,395 · see citing works
Neumark-Sztainer, D., Paxton, S. J., Hannan, P. J., Haines, J., & Story, M. (2006) · Journal of Adolescent Health · doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2005.12.001 · Cited by 1,087 · see citing works
A Mediational Model Linking Self-Objectification, Body Shame, and Disordered Eating
Noll, S. M., & Fredrickson, B. L. (1998) · Psychology of Women Quarterly · doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.1998.tb00181.x · Cited by 923 · see citing works
Perloff, R. M. (2014) · Sex Roles · doi:10.1007/s11199-014-0384-6 · Cited by 913 · see citing works
Chua, T. H. H., & Chang, L. (2016) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2015.09.011 · Cited by 704 · see citing works
Schaefer, L. M., Burke, N. L., Thompson, J. K., Dedrick, R. F., Heinberg, L. J., Calogero, R. M., Bardone‐Cone, A. M., Higgins, M. K., Frederick, D. A., Kelly, M. C., et al. (2014) · Psychological Assessment · doi:10.1037/a0037917 · Cited by 595 · see citing works
Sharing the small moments: ephemeral social interaction on Snapchat
Bayer, J., Ellison, N. B., Schoenebeck, S. Y., & Falk, E. B. (2015) · Information Communication & Society · doi:10.1080/1369118x.2015.1084349 · Cited by 553 · see citing works
A meta-analytic review of the relationship between social media use and body image disturbance
Saiphoo, A. N., & Vahedi, Z. (2019) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2019.07.028 · Cited by 539 · see citing works
Slater, A., & Tiggemann, M. (2010) · Journal of Adolescence · doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2010.06.007 · Cited by 484 · see citing works
Handling Missing Data by Maximum Likelihood
Allison, P. D. (2012) · Cited by 423 · see citing works
Rohde, P., Stice, E., & Marti, C. N. (2015) · International Journal of Eating Disorders · doi:10.1002/eat.22270 · Cited by 388 · see citing works
Is body dissatisfaction changing across time? A cross-temporal meta-analysis.
Karazsia, B. T., Murnen, S. K., & Tylka, T. L. (2016) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/bul0000081 · Cited by 336 · see citing works
Grogan, S. (2016) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781315681528 · Cited by 282 · see citing works
The impact of self-affirmation on health-behavior change: A meta-analysis
Epton, T., Harris, P. R., Kane, R., van Koningsbruggen, G. M., & Sheeran, P. (2015) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/hea0000116 · Cited by 277 · see citing works
What works in secondary schools? A systematic review of classroom-based body image programs
Yager, Z., Diedrichs, P. C., Ricciardelli, L. A., & Halliwell, E. (2013) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2013.04.001 · Cited by 250 · see citing works
Nebraska Symposium on Motivation 1984: Psychology and gender.
(1984) · PubMed · Cited by 245 · see citing works
Rodgers, R. F., & Melioli, T. (2015) · Adolescent Research Review · doi:10.1007/s40894-015-0016-6 · Cited by 234 · see citing works
Dakanalis, A., Carrà, G., Calogero, R., Fida, R., Clerici, M., Zanetti, M. A., & Riva, G. (2015) · European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1007/s00787-014-0649-1 · Cited by 230 · see citing works
Sabbah, H. A., Vereecken, C. A., Elgar, F. J., Nansel, T. R., Aasvee, K., Abdeen, Z., Ojala, K., Ahluwalia, N., & Maes, L. (2009) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/1471-2458-9-52 · Cited by 221 · see citing works
Knauss, C., Paxton, S. J., & Alsaker, F. D. (2008) · Sex Roles · doi:10.1007/s11199-008-9474-7 · Cited by 209 · see citing works
Objectifying fitness: A content and thematic analysis of #fitspiration images on social media.
Deighton-Smith, N., & Bell, B. T. (2017) · Psychology of Popular Media Culture · doi:10.1037/ppm0000143 · Cited by 186 · see citing works
Self-citationMcLean, S. A., Wertheim, E. H., Masters, J., & Paxton, S. J. (2017) · International Journal of Eating Disorders · doi:10.1002/eat.22708 · Cited by 186 · see citing works
HIV prevention cost-effectiveness: a systematic review
Galárraga, O., Colchero, M. A., Wamai, R. G., & Bertozzi, S. (2009) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/1471-2458-9-s1-s5 · Cited by 180 · see citing works
Self-affirmation and responses to health messages: A meta-analysis on intentions and behavior.
Sweeney, A. M., & Moyer, A. E. (2014) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/hea0000110 · Cited by 153 · see citing works
Wieber, F., Thürmer, J. L., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2015) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2015.00395 · Cited by 151 · see citing works
When media become the mirror: a meta-analysis on media and body image
Huang, Q. E., Peng, W., & Ahn, S. (2020) · Media Psychology · doi:10.1080/15213269.2020.1737545 · Cited by 141 · see citing works
A content analysis of thinspiration, fitspiration, and bonespiration imagery on social media
Talbot, C. V., Gavin, J., van Steen, T., & Morey, Y. (2017) · Journal of Eating Disorders · doi:10.1186/s40337-017-0170-2 · Cited by 133 · see citing works
Shin, T., Davison, M. L., & Long, J. D. (2016) · Psychological Methods · doi:10.1037/met0000094 · Cited by 132 · see citing works
Diedrichs, P. C., Atkinson, M. J., Steer, R. J., Garbett, K. M., Rumsey, N., & Halliwell, E. (2015) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2015.09.004 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
Bird, E. L., Halliwell, E., Diedrichs, P. C., & Harcourt, D. M. (2013) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2013.02.008 · Cited by 111 · see citing works
Cruz-Sáez, S., Pascual, A., Włodarczyk, A., & Echeburúa, E. (2018) · Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.1177/1359105317748734 · Cited by 111 · see citing works
Bell, B. T. (2019) · International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction · doi:10.1016/j.ijcci.2019.03.002 · Cited by 111 · see citing works
Self-citationWang, Y., Xie, X., Fardouly, J., Vartanian, L. R., & Lei, L. (2021) · New Media & Society · doi:10.1177/1461444819894346 · Cited by 108 · see citing works
Leckie, G., & Goldstein, H. (2017) · British Educational Research Journal · doi:10.1002/berj.3264 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
Gordon, C. S., Rodgers, R. F., Slater, A. E., McLean, S. A., Jarman, H. K., & Paxton, S. J. (2020) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.02.003 · Cited by 79 · see citing works
Halliwell, E., Jarman, H. K., McNamara, A., Risdon, H., & Jankowski, G. S. (2015) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2015.02.002 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Cognitive-behavioral roots of body image therapy and prevention
Lewis‐Smith, H., Diedrichs, P. C., & Halliwell, E. (2019) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2019.08.009 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Chua, J. Y. X., Tam, W., & Shorey, S. (2020) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/jcpp.13164 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Maginot, T. R., Kumar, M. M., Shiels, J., et al. (2017) · Journal of Eating Disorders · doi:10.1186/s40337-016-0132-0 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Vandenbosch, L., & Eggermont, S. (2013) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2013.10.005 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
The Wiley Handbook of Eating Disorders
(2015) · doi:10.1002/9781118574089 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Yamamiya, Y., Shimai, S., Schaefer, L. M., Thompson, J. K., Shroff, H., Sharma, R., & Ordaz, D. L. (2016) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2016.08.006 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Zimmer‐Gembeck, M. J., Webb, H. J., Kerin, J., Waters, A. M., & Farrell, L. J. (2020) · Development and Psychopathology · doi:10.1017/s0954579420000188 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Swedish adolescents’ experiences of cybervictimization and body‐related concerns
Frisén, A., & Berne, S. (2019) · Scandinavian Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/sjop.12561 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Wollast, R., Klein, O., VanLeeuwen, D., Gervais, S. J., & Bernard, P. (2021) · Psychologica Belgica · doi:10.5334/pb.481 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Paxton, S. J. (2015) · doi:10.1002/9781118574089.ch48 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
An exploration of the psychometric properties of the SATAQ-4 among adolescent boys in Japan
Yamamiya, Y., Shroff, H., Schaefer, L. M., Thompson, J. K., Shimai, S., & Ordaz, D. L. (2018) · Eating Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2018.12.001 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Bell, B. T., Taylor, C., Paddock, D. L., Bates, A., & Orange, S. T. (2021) · Health Psychology Open · doi:10.1177/20551029211018920 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Self-citationIntegrating Health Education in Academic Lessons: Is This the Future of Health Education in Schools?
Tancred, T., Fletcher, A., Meléndez‐Torres, G. J., Thomas, J., Campbell, R. M., & Bonell, C. P. (2017) · Journal of School Health · doi:10.1111/josh.12554 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Gordon, C. S., Jarman, H. K., Rodgers, R. F., McLean, S. A., Slater, A., Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, M., & Paxton, S. J. (2021) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu13113825 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
Mitigating Harms of Social Media for Adolescent Body Image and Eating Disorders: A Review
Mazzeo, S., Weinstock, M., Vashro, T., Henning, T., & Derrigo, K. (2024) · Psychology Research and Behavior Management · doi:10.2147/prbm.s410600 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
- Authors
- Bell, B. T., Taylor, C., Paddock, D., & Bates, A.
- Affiliations
- York St John University (GB)
- Sheffield Hallam University (GB)
- Venue
- British Journal of Educational Psychology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2021-08-04
- Volume
- 92
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 280-298
- ISSN
- 0007-0998 (ISSN-L)
- 2044-8279
- OpenAlex
- W3188005239
- Cited by
- 43
- References
- 55
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 1
- FWCI
- 3.59
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- British Journal of Educational Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research at York St John (York St John University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Body Image and Dysmorphia Studies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Keywords
- body image, body satisfaction, adolescents, social media use, classroom intervention, thin-ideal internalization, self-objectification, appearance ideals, intervention efficacy
- MeSH terms
- Body Dissatisfaction, Adolescent, Body Image, Female, Humans, Personal Satisfaction, Self Concept
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
