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© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Although the negative effect of social media use among youth on body image and eating concerns has been established, few classroom-based resources that can decrease these effects through targeting social media literacy skills have been developed. This study aimed to test the efficacy of SoMe, a social media literacy body image, dieting, and wellbeing program for adolescents, through a cluster randomized controlled trial. Participants (n = 892; Mage = 12.77, SD = 0.74; range 11–15; 49.5% male) were randomized by school (n = 8) to receive either weekly SoMe (n = 483) or control sessions (lessons as usual; n = 409) over 4 weeks in their classroom. Participants completed surveys at four timepoints (baseline, 1-week post-intervention, and 6- and 12-month follow-up) assessing body dissatisfaction, dietary restraint, strategies to increase muscles (primary outcomes), self-esteem and depressive symptoms (secondary outcomes), and internalization of appearance ideals and appearance comparison (exploratory outcomes). Modest positive intervention effects were found in dietary restraint and depressive symptoms at 6-month follow-up in girls but few positive effects emerged for boys. The findings provide only preliminary support for a social media literacy intervention, but suggest the usefulness of both identifying those who benefit most from a universally delivered intervention and the need to refine the intervention to maximize intervention effects.

Details

Title
Outcomes of a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of the SoMe Social Media Literacy Program for Improving Body Image-Related Outcomes in Adolescent Boys and Girls
Author
Gordon, Chloe S 1 ; Jarman, Hannah K 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Rodgers, Rachel F 3 ; McLean, Siân A 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Slater, Amy 4   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, Matthew 5 ; Paxton, Susan J 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC 3086, Australia; [email protected] (C.S.G.); [email protected] (S.A.M.); [email protected] (S.J.P.); ACU Engagement, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, VIC 3002, Australia 
 School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC 3086, Australia; [email protected] (C.S.G.); [email protected] (S.A.M.); [email protected] (S.J.P.) 
 APPEAR, Department of Applied Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA; [email protected]; Department of Psychiatric Emergency & Acute Care, Lapeyronie Hospital, CHRU Montpellier, 34090 Montpellier, France 
 Centre for Appearance Research, University of West of England, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK; [email protected] 
 School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia; [email protected]; Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Melbourne, VIC 3125, Australia 
First page
3825
Publication year
2021
Publication date
2021
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
20726643
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2602147114
Copyright
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.