Everybody's Different
OVERVIEW
Everybody's Different is a program designed for secondary school students to improve their body image and self-esteem. Students participate in teacher-led lessons on self-esteem, communication skills, stereotypes, and relationship skills. In this evaluation, relative to students in the control group, the experimental group students showed significant declines in body dissatisfaction, importance of social acceptance, and increases in perceived physical appearance.
DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM
Target population: Everybody's Different was designed to improve body image through improvement of self-esteem. The program is designed for secondary school classes. In the program, students take part in nine weekly 50-80 minute lessons on dealing with stress, positive self esteem, stereotypes, relationship skills, and communication skills. Students also have home-based activities and are encouraged to discuss the lessons with people in and out of school. The lessons take place in the school and are led by the students' normal teacher.
EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM
Sanford, M., Byrne, C., Williams, S., Atley, S., Ridley, T., Miller, J., & Allin, H. (2003). A pilot study of a parent-education group for families affected by depression. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 48(2), 78-86.
Evaluated population: 470 7th and 8th grade students from two schools in Australia participated in the study. Students were aged 11 to 14 years and 63 percent were female.
Approach: The students were randomly assigned to intervention or control groups. Students were assessed at baseline, after the intervention, and 12 months after baseline on their eating disorder attitudes, perceived physical appearance, perception of how others perceive their physical appearance, physical changes, self-concept, and weight loss behaviors.
Results: At post-test, intervention students had significantly greater declines in body dissatisfaction when compared with control group students; however, impacts were not sustained at the 12-month follow-up. There were no significant differences on drive for thinness and body awareness.
Intervention group students noted their perceptions of how their father would assess their physical appearance more positively when compared with the control group at post-test, but this did not remain significant at the 12-month follow-up. Among females in the intervention group; however, there were significant differences on the self, mother, and father physical appearance scores when compared with control group females. Also, for females, father physical appearance score remained significant at the 12-month follow-up.
There were significant differences between normal weight intervention and control group females on standard body weight. There were no significant differences between the groups on measures of height, weight, or puberty status.
Intervention students reported a significant decrease in importance of social acceptance compared with control group students, and this remained at the 12-month follow-up. Intervention students outside of the range of normal standard body weight had a significant decrease in importance of athletic competence when compared with the control students. This impact remained at the 12-month follow-up. Intervention students also reported a significant decrease in the importance of physical appearance at the 12-month follow-up compared with the control group.
There were no significant differences between the groups on weight loss behaviors at post-test and follow-up.
Subgroup analyses were also collected. Among 116 high-risk (low self-esteem and high Trait Anxiety) students, the intervention had impacts on a number of measures. The program improved at body dissatisfaction scores for this group at significantly post-test and follow-up compared with high-risk control students. The father subscale of the physical appearance measure increased significantly for high-risk intervention students compared with high-risk control students at post-test, but none of the other subscales were significant. At pos-test there were significant decreases in the importance of social acceptance and physical appearance for the high-risk intervention students compared with the high-risk control students at post-test, but not at 12 months. There were significant increases in the importance of a close friendship at 12 months for the high-risk intervention group when compared with the high-risk control group.
There were no significant impacts on students' anxiety and depression.
Analyses did not adjust for random assignment by classroom
SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION
Program manual available for $59.95 at http://shop.acer.edu.au/acer-shop/product/A1060BK
Contact information:
Dr. J. O'Dea
Faculty of Education
University of Sydney
Building A35
NSW 2006, Australia
References
O'Dea, J. A., & Abraham, S. (1999). Improving the body image, eating attitudes, and behaviors of young male and female adolscents: A new educational approach that focuses on self-esteem. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 28, 43-57.
Program categorized in this guide according to the following:
Evaluated participant ages: 11-14 / Program age ranges in the Guide: middle childhood, adolescence
Program components: School-based
Measured outcomes: Social and Emotional Health; Mental Health, physical health
KEYWORDS: Middle Childhood (6-11), Adolescence (12-17), school-based, Children (3-11), Adolescents (12-17), School Engagement, Social/Emotional Health, Physical Health, Eating Disorders, Middle School, Nutrition, Overweight, Obesity
Program information last updated 5/11/09
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© Child Trends 2003 |
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