Piloting a Treatment to Address Social Media Use and Eating Disorder Risk in University Students

This was a pilot study investigating the feasibility and acceptability of a novel intervention addressing the relationship between social media use and eating disorder risk in young adults. University students aged 17-25 (N = 170) were screened and randomized (n = 130) to the self-criticism intervention, social media curation as an active comparator, or waitlist control group. The intervention comprised self-guided cognitive behaviour therapy delivered in four modules over 1 week. Primary outcomes were feasibility and acceptability. Secondary outcomes were appearance motivations for social media use, appearance comparison, self-criticism, body image flexibility, and disordered eating (at baseline, one-week post-randomization, and two-weeks post-randomization).