Publication Date

Summer 2019

Advisor(s) - Committee Chair

Frederick Grieve (Director), Thomas Gross, and Andrea Jenkins

Degree Program

Department of Psychology

Degree Type

Master of Arts

Abstract

Pro-anorexia content, or content that promotes the development and sustainment of eating disorders, is an important topic that has been understudied in the literature. Previous research has primary examined the content featured on pro-anorexia websites, but few researchers have conducted experimental studies examining the direct impact viewing pro-anorexia content has on individuals struggling with an eating disorder. The current study was an experimental study that exposed participants to three conditions: proanorexia content, pro-recovery content, and a control group. The researcher examined the impact that viewing the three levels of content for 10 minutes had on individuals who met criteria and who did not meet criteria for an eating disorder on the Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale. Participants were examined using the Eating Attitudes Test to examine eating disorder symptomology and the Body Assessment Scale to examine body satisfaction after every condition. The results of this study showed that participants who met criteria for an eating disorder reported increased eating disorder symptomology after viewing the pro-anorexia condition.

Disciplines

Clinical Psychology | Psychology | Social Psychology

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