Publication date: Jan 31, 2025

Recent studies underscore the relevance of life meaning to the maintenance of eating disorders. A previously conducted randomized controlled trial tested a meaning-centered intervention for female university students with high weight and shape concerns. After a 6-week online intervention led by a trainer, participants in the intervention condition scored higher on life meaning and lower on eating disorder symptoms and general distress compared to a waitlist group. Given that the original study took place during COVID-19, this study replicated the design to test the findings’ robustness. Compared to the waitlist condition (n = 68), participants in the intervention condition (n = 63) again scored higher on the presence of life meaning at post-assessment and follow-up. Participants in the intervention condition also showed moderately lower internalizing symptoms at both timepoints, whereas eating disorder symptoms were only reduced in those with relatively high baseline symptom severity. Thus, also without social distancing measures, the intervention increased life meaning and reduced eating disorder symptoms and comorbid internalizing symptoms in women with weight and shape concerns.

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