What does viewing a pro-anorexia website do? an experimental examination of website exposure and moderating effects

• Published in: The International journal of eating disorders Vol. 40; no. 6; pp. 537 - 548
• Main Authors: Bardone-Cone, Anna M, Cass, Kamila M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01-09-2007; Wiley; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Affect; Anorexia; Anorexia Nervosa - epidemiology; Anorexia Nervosa - psychology; behavioral expectations; Biological and medical sciences; body image; Cognition; Cognition & reasoning; cognitions; communications technology; dietary restriction; Disclosure; Eating behavior disorders; Eating disorders; Expectations; Female; Humans; Internet; Medical sciences; mental health; Personality; Personality Assessment; pro-anorexia; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; psychosocial factors; self-efficacy; Surveys and Questionnaires; User behavior; website exposure; Websites; Anorexia; Feeding behavior; cognitions; pro-anorexia; affect; Cognition; Exposure; Internet; behavioral expectations; Eating disorder; Expectation; Experimental study
• ISSN: 0276-3478; 1098-108X
• DOI: 10.1002/eat.20396

OBJECTIVE:: This study experimentally examined the effects of viewing a pro-anorexia website. METHOD:: Following construction of a prototypic pro-anorexia website, 235 female undergraduates were randomly assigned to view either the pro-anorexia website or one of two comparison websites related to female fashion (using average-sized models) or home décor. Post-website affect, cognitions, and behavioral expectations were examined along with moderator effects. RESULTS:: Study participants exposed to the pro-anorexia website had greater negative affect, lower social self-esteem, and lower appearance self-efficacy post-website than those who viewed a comparison website. Additionally, they perceived themselves as heavier, reported a greater likelihood of exercising and thinking about their weight in the near future, and engaged in more image comparison. Minimal support was found for moderator effects. CONCLUSION:: Results provide an empirical basis for concern (expressed by clinicians, researchers, the media) that pro-anorexia websites are a troubling new form of thin-ideal exposure that warrants further examination. © 2007 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.