Systematic review of body image flexibility interventions

This datafile comprises secondary data extracted from intervention and experimental studies that were included in a systematic review of body image flexibility interventions. The review aimed to investigate: • How effective are body image flexibility interventions for improving health outcomes in young people? • Can body image flexibility interventions offer a protective function in the context of a body image threat? • What mechanisms account for the effectiveness of body image flexibility interventions? The datafile contains extracted quantitative data (sample sizes, means and standard deviations) from 23 studies included in the review. Intervention effects were calculated as standardised mean differences (SMD) between intervention and comparison conditions: (a) no/minimal intervention control (Control) or (b) other evidence-based intervention (predominantly dissonance-based interventions; DBI). If studies included both a no/minimal intervention control and EBI, results for each are included. If there were multiple active intervention arms, the one most consistent with other studies was selected. Likewise, if studies had multiple follow-up assessments, only the final measurement was included for analysis. This data can be used to calculate SMDs for post-intervention values and/or change scores for each of the outcome variables. The SMDs can then be aggregated and analysed quantitatively based on comparisons and outcomes of interest (see further explanation in Steps to re-produce). All outcome variables are continuous measures. The SMDs presented in this datafile were derived from change scores, measured as pre-to-post change or pre-to-follow-up change as obtained directly from the original study or calculated based on pre, post, and follow-up group means and standard deviations (see below for Steps to re-produce). SMDs are presented as Hedges' g effect size (ES) with associated standard errors (SE), confidence intervals (CI), and p-values (p), which were estimated in SPSS via meta-analysis of continuous outcomes using raw data. Individual effect estimates were calculated so that a positive SMD favoured the body image flexibility intervention over comparator (Control or EBI). Our review (Brichacek et al., under review) found initial evidence to support improvements in health outcomes, protection against exposure to sociocultural body image threats, and reduction in inflexible ways of relating to one’s internal experiences relative to no/minimal interventi