Examining the Effect of a Body Image Cognitive Dissonance Prevention Program on Disordered Eating, Risky Alcohol Use, and Sexual Risk Taking

Eating disorders and body image issues are significant problems which affect many domains of the lives of both men and women. These constructs have, in turn, been associated with health risk taking behaviors such as sexual risk taking and risky alcohol use. Ninety-six participants completed self-report data before and after a body image cognitive dissonance (CD) program or an active health education control to determine if participation in the program lead to less health risk taking behaviors such as disordered eating, risky alcohol use, and sexual risk taking. T-tests and ANOVA revealed that participants who went through Reflections training exhibited lower global Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scores, however did not differ on Sexual Risk Taking Scale (SRTS) scores. Future studies may require larger samples to address floor effects and may want to consider ways to improve random assignment in order to adequately assess whether cognitive dissonance training can be expanded to be used to lower risky health behaviors.