Sagel, Sarah (2024) The effect of a meaning in life intervention in reducing weight and shape concerns and depressive symptoms in female undergraduates. Master thesis, Psychology.
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Abstract
Van Doornik et al.’s (2023) findings showed that Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Eating Disorders (MCP-ED) could increase meaning in life (MiL) and decrease weight and shape concerns in female undergraduates under pandemic circumstances. The current study is a replication of van Doornik and colleagues’ (2023) findings to confirm the robustness of their found effect in first-year psychology students (M age = 19.66, SD = 2.27) under nonpandemic circumstances. This is motivated by the recognition that the COVID-19 pandemic could have resulted in an overestimation of the treatment effect. Hypotheses: MCP-ED increases MiL, decreases weight and shape concerns and depressive symptoms in female undergraduates. We conducted a RCT (N = 104), where we compared the intervention condition (n = 46) versus a waitlist control condition (n = 58). The participants in the intervention condition received six sessions of MCP-ED aimed at increasing MiL. The Meaning in Life Questionnaire was used to assess MiL, the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire 6.0 was used to measure eating disorder symptoms, and the Depression subscale from the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales was used to assess depressive symptoms. Results showed that MCP-ED increases MiL, decreases eating disorder symptoms and depressive symptoms. Future research should investigate if incorporating a MCP-ED component into existing psychotherapies for eating psychopathology is beneficial.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Frey, M.I. and Schutzeichel, F. |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | Clinical Psychology (CP) [Master Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 20 Feb 2024 08:48 |
| Last Modified: | 20 Feb 2024 08:48 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/3136 |
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