title: Psychoeducation in the prevention of eating disorders: an experimental approach in adolescent schoolgirls.
abstract: The aim of this report is to analyse the impact of a psychoeducational preventive programme on the eating habits of a sample of adolescent schoolgirls. Of the 112 schoolgirls attending five classes, about 86% agreed to participate in the program. Of these, 63 participants belonged to the experimental group and 33 agreed to the control group. The psychoeducational sessions were performed once a month for each of three experimental classes. The programme involved discussions on the nature of eating disorders, on epidemiological aspects and on the importance of early detection of risk factors. The tests used to evaluate the sample were the EDI-2 and the PF-16. The results showed a significant improvement in bulimic attitudes, asceticism, feelings of ineffectiveness, and maturity fears. Anxiety traits were also better managed in the experimental group. Our conclusions suggest that correct information about eating disorders can ameliorate unhealthy attitudes towards eating behaviour.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Patologia e Medicina Sperimentale e Clinica, Cattedra di Pisichiatria, Università di Udine, Italy. p.lrocco@med.uniud.it
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Rocco
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Ciano
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Balestrieri
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016896:Treatment Outcome