The Effects of a Meaning-Centered Intervention on Depression, Anxiety and Self-Esteem in Undergraduate Women With High Weight and Shape Concerns

Doting, Hannah (2025) The Effects of a Meaning-Centered Intervention on Depression, Anxiety and Self-Esteem in Undergraduate Women With High Weight and Shape Concerns. Master thesis, Psychology.

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Abstract

Van Doornik et al. (2024) developed Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Eating Disorders (MCP-ED) and demonstrated improvements in Meaning in Life (MiL) alongside reductions in eating disorder and internalizing symptoms. Since their study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, the present study aimed to partially replicate and extend their findings outside pandemic conditions. A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 130 female university students with high weight and shape concerns, who were randomly assigned to either the intervention condition (n = 62) or the waiting-list control condition (n = 68). Participants completed self-report measures on MiL, depression and anxiety symptoms, and self-esteem (SE) at pre- and post-intervention. We hypothesized that MCP-ED would effectively (i) increase MiL, (ii) decrease depression and anxiety symptoms, and (iii) increase SE. Moreover, given that the mechanisms underlying meaning-centered interventions remain underexplored, and prior research linking low SE to internalizing symptoms and higher MiL to improved SE, we explored whether (iv) increases in SE would mediate the relationship between increases in MiL and reductions in internalizing symptoms. The intervention group showed significantly greater improvements in MiL and reductions in depression and anxiety compared to controls, replicating findings by van Doornik et al. (2024), and demonstrating MCP-ED’s effectiveness outside pandemic conditions. Although no direct intervention effect on SE was observed after correction, mediation analysis revealed that increases in SE partially mediated the relationship between increases in and decreases in internalizing symptoms. Findings support the efficacy of MCP-ED as an intervention for increasing MiL, reducing internalizing symptoms, together with extending preliminary evidence that SE may serve as a mediating mechanism in the relationship between MiL and internalizing symptoms.

Item Type:	Thesis (Master)
Supervisor name:	Jong, P.J. de and Nather, M. and Frey, M.I.
Degree programme:	Psychology
Differentiation route:	Clinical Psychology (CP) [Master Psychology]
Date Deposited:	29 Jan 2026 12:59
Last Modified:	29 Jan 2026 12:59
URI:	http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/6100

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