Imagem corporal, autocompaixão e autoestima em jovens universitários: um ensaio clínico randomizado

Abstract

The young adult population is one of the most vulnerable to body dissatisfaction. In this context, the present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of brief preventive interventions in self-compassion and self-esteem, based on writing tasks, in increasing body appreciation in a sample of 94 university students aged 18 to 35 years of both sexes. The research is characterized as a randomized clinical trial. It was developed in an online format due to the social distance necessary at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were randomly assigned to three written intervention groups. One group carried out activities focused on the development of self-compassion, a second group carried out activities focused on self-esteem and a third group carried out neutral activities, acting as a control group. Before the intervention, all participants answered self-compassion, self-esteem, body appreciation, body functionality appreciation, anxiety, depression and common mental disorders symptoms. Immediately after the intervention, the participants responded to the instruments a second time and, after two weeks (follow-up), they responded to the instruments a third time. Possible correlations between the studied variables were analyzed, finding a strong or moderate significant correlation for all of them. A regression model for body appreciation was also carried out, using the baseline measurements of the entire sample of participants (n = 230) of the study, regardless of participation or not in the intervention, pointing to the body functionality appreciation, the self-esteem and self-compassion, respectively, as variables that explain the 69.0% variation in body appreciation. The effect of the interventions on the participants was then evaluated according to the allocation group, in addition to the effect of time and the group x time interaction, through the mixed ANOVA of repeated measures, finding only the effect of time on self-compassion, body appreciation, depressive and common mental disorders symptoms. It is concluded that the interventions in self-compassion and self-esteem performed were not effective in promoting an increase in body appreciation, nor in promoting significant changes in any of the other variables. It was not possible to perform an efficiency analysis. The need for cross-cultural adaptation of culturally sensitive interventions is pointed out, in addition to the possibility of developing their own interventions. The potential for interventions carried out in online format is alluded to.