Prevention of eating disorders and obesity: validation of instruments and cultural adaptation of a program to promote positive body image in Brazilian children

• Grant number: 14/16084-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: April 01, 2015
• End date: August 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Psychological Treatment and Prevention
• Agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Sebastião de Sousa Almeida
• Grantee: Gabriela Salim Xavier Moreira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Given the prevalence of Eating Disorders (ED) and obesity, as well as risk behaviors that precede its development, added to the difficulties and costs of available treatments, it becomes necessary to implement preventive strategies in the Brazilian context. Moreover, evaluation instruments that should be employed must have those psychometric properties satisfactorily evaluated for the study sample to check the effects of these interventions. Thus, the main objective of the study is to adapt the "Everybody is different" program for the Brazilian context and apply it in a sample of Brazilian children aged between 10 and 12 years enrolled in primary schools. Also the aim of this study is to adapt and validate two instruments already translated for the Brazilian context, but not used in children - Body Appreciation Scale (BAS) and the Questionnaire of Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance (SATAQ-3) - and validate an instrument already translated, the Eating Attitudes Test for children (cheat). Initially the project will be submitted to the Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters of Ribeirão Preto (USP) and its adoption by the data collection begins. The first part of the study will consist of adaptation and validation process of these instruments. BAS and SATAQ-3 will be submitted to a committee of judges to adapt their items to the target study population. Then, about 300 students will be recruited through the ages mentioned, enrolled in elementary schools. Besides the two scales above, children respond to cheat and will be measured and weighed. The psychometric properties of the instruments will be checked for internal consistency and correlation between test-retest scores (accuracy); by exploratory factor analysis (construct validity) and correlation between scores and nutritional status (criterion validity). The second part of the study is the cross-cultural adaptation of program activities, respecting the recommendations for adapting instruments (translations, synthesis of translations, back translations, synthesis of the back translations and judging comity). The adapted version of the protocol will be applied to approximately 100 children of both sexes, with the same profile as the first phase of the study (experimental group). Another 100 children will be tested simultaneously, but will not receive any intervention (control group). The pre-test will be conducted in a similar manner for both groups, starting by collecting the demographic data of the children's parents, followed by the application of the Economic Classification Criterion Brazil. The testing of children will be taken in groups, in the classroom, with two researchers trained to help supervise children. In addition to the above instruments will apply: Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Figure Rating Scale for children (FRS) and Body Dissatisfaction Assessment Scale (EEICA). The FRS is applied individually before the collection of anthropometric measurements, after completion of previous questionnaires in another room, respecting the privacy of children. After the pre-test phase, the intervention phase starts for the experimental group, consisting of 9 weekly sessions that will be held at school in dates and times pre-determined according to the availability of schools and students. The sessions will be conducted by the principal investigator with experience in studies on body image, and aid of a research assistant. After completion of the intervention phase, the phase of post-test will start by repeating the same procedure performed in the pretest. Statistical analysis of the data will consist of descriptive analyzes of the variables studied and comparisons of mean scores of the experimental and control groups over time (pre-and post-test), using ANOVA. (AU)