Publications by authors named "Neha J Goel"
This Virtual Issue of the International Journal of Eating Disorders honors the legacy of the late Dr. C. Barr Taylor in the eating disorders (EDs) field.
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- This study explored the barriers and facilitators that South Asian American women face when seeking treatment for eating disorders (EDs) through focus group discussions with 54 participants.
- It identified six major barriers, including mental health stigma, fear of social ostracization, and cultural influences, alongside three facilitators that could help improve treatment access.
- Recommendations included promoting mental health awareness, collaboration with South Asian communities for targeted educational campaigns, and training healthcare providers in culturally-sensitive practices to better support this demographic.
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- The study evaluated the effectiveness of the Student Bodies-Eating Disorders (SB-ED) intervention, a digital self-help program aimed at reducing eating disorder symptoms among college women.
- It analyzed how factors like body mass index (BMI), thin ideal internalization, and depression influenced the intervention's success and its long-term impacts.
- Findings suggest that lower BMI individuals showed greater ongoing improvements, and reductions in thin ideal internalization and depression played key roles in improving eating disorder psychopathology over time.
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- Digital guided self-help for eating disorders (GSH-ED) can help reduce gaps in treatment access for college students.
- A study involving 383 students showed that participants engaged with their assigned coaches, focusing on changing thoughts and behaviors related to their eating disorders, while also discussing their symptoms and emotional connections.
- The insights from participant feedback can be used to improve future GSH-ED programs, making them more effective and widely available for those struggling with eating disorders.
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- - This study examined how well the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q) works for assessing eating disorders among American university men from different racial backgrounds, including Asian/Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Black, and White.
- - Researchers tested twelve EDE-Q factor structures and found that a revised four-factor structure was more effective in capturing eating disorder traits and was applicable across all racial groups in the sample.
- - Results showed that Asian/Hawaiian/Pacific Islander men displayed higher levels of eating disorder symptoms and behaviors compared to their Black and White counterparts, highlighting a potential greater vulnerability to eating disorders in this group.
Promoting representation of historically marginalized racial and ethnic populations in the eating disorders (EDs) field among professionals and the populations studied and served has long been discussed, with limited progress. This may be due to a reinforcing feedback loop in which individuals from dominant cultures conduct research and deliver treatment, participate in research, and receive diagnoses and treatment. This insularity maintains underrepresentation: EDs in historically marginalized populations are understudied, undetected, and undertreated.
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- Thin ideal internalization is linked to disordered eating, poor body image, and eating disorders, prompting the creation of the Perceived Benefits of Thinness Scale (PBTS) to measure perceived positive impacts of being thinner.
- The PBTS demonstrated strong reliability and valid psychometric properties across three studies of college-aged women, indicating it effectively measures its intended purpose.
- By focusing on social and emotional benefits, the PBTS could help clinicians and researchers better understand the relationship between the thin ideal and eating disorder risks.
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- The study explored how South Asian American women perceive eating disorders and body dissatisfaction, focusing on cultural influences through seven focus groups with a mean age of around 20 years.
- Participants identified cultural stressors and weight stigma primarily from older women in their families, which contributed to their body image struggles.
- The research highlights the significance of both traditional values and cultural pressures, such as beauty ideals and marriage expectations, in understanding body image issues among young South Asian American women.
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- The study investigates how eating disorders (EDs) and their impacts vary among different weight statuses in university women, focusing on those who do not have anorexia nervosa.
- It involved 690 participants from various U.S. universities and compared aspects like clinical impairment and general mental health issues across healthy, overweight, and obese individuals.
- Results indicate that women with EDs who are overweight or obese experience more severe symptoms and specific trends in ED diagnoses compared to those of healthy weight, emphasizing the importance of considering weight in ED treatment strategies.
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- - This study analyzed the evolution of eating disorders (EDs) and their sociocultural influences in Japan from 1700 to 2020, using a systematic scoping review method.
- - During the 1700s, restrictive EDs were notably reported, but cases decreased between 1868 and 1944; however, diagnoses of anorexia nervosa increased post-World War II, ultimately leading to a rise in restrictive and binge/purge behaviors from the 1970s onward.
- - Key sociocultural factors influencing EDs in Japan include the impact of family conflicts, the internalization of beauty standards, changing food environments, and the pressures tied to traditional gender roles.
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- The study examined the prevalence of disordered eating attitudes and body shape concerns among North Indian Kathak dancers compared to healthy controls.
- Kathak dancers exhibited higher rates of disordered eating behaviors, including increased dieting and binge eating, along with a strong correlation between body dissatisfaction and disordered eating attitudes.
- The findings suggest a significant risk for disordered eating in dancers with body shape concerns, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to promote positive body image and reduce these harmful behaviors.
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- A study evaluated eating disorder symptoms, clinical issues, and co-occurring mental health problems among 690 college women from various racial and ethnic backgrounds who showed signs of eating disorders.* -
- The results indicated that Asian women had significantly more binge eating incidents compared to White women, while women identifying as "Other" used laxatives more than both Asian and White women. Hispanic women also reported higher laxative use and more insomnia symptoms than non-Hispanic women.* -
- The findings highlight the importance of understanding how eating disorder symptoms vary by race and ethnicity, suggesting that customized screening approaches could better address specific needs in these diverse groups.*
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- Eating disorders are prevalent and serious among college students, with many not receiving treatment; digital interventions could help fill this gap.
- A study assessed a digital cognitive behavior therapy program's effectiveness versus typical care for college women with binge-purge eating disorders across 27 US universities.
- Results showed the digital intervention group had a significant reduction in eating disorder symptoms compared to the control group, both immediately after the program and during follow-up, though there was no notable difference in abstinence from eating disorder behaviors.
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- Digital health interventions (DHIs) use text data from user-coach messages and user-generated content to improve treatment effectiveness for conditions like eating disorders.
- This study presents a technical framework leveraging natural language processing (NLP) to analyze text data from DHIs, aiding in predicting user engagement and treatment outcomes.
- In a case study involving 372 participants, the framework predicted binge eating behavior, providing promising results that indicate certain text features could be linked to better treatment outcomes.
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- The study focused on the links between insomnia, anxiety, and depression in college women suffering from eating disorders (EDs), involving 690 participants from 28 US colleges.
- About 21.7% of these women reported moderate to severe insomnia, while both anxiety and depression were found to significantly mediate the relationship between insomnia and ED symptoms.
- Researchers suggest that mental health assessments for insomnia, depression, and anxiety should be included in ED prevention and intervention programs at colleges to better address these interrelated issues.
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- * Researchers surveyed 1,173 undergraduate women to measure perfectionism, ED symptoms, and demographics, using various statistical analyses to identify differences and associations across racial/ethnic groups.
- * Results showed significant differences in PE and PC levels among groups; PE was linked to ED symptoms in Latina, Asian American, and multiracial women, while PC was connected with body dissatisfaction in White, Black, and multiracial women, highlighting cultural influences on ED symptomatology.
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- Recent studies have increasingly used online screenings to identify individuals with eating disorders (EDs) who may seek treatment.
- A new research approach combines effective treatments, modern statistical methods, and user-focused designs to better understand and improve treatment outcomes for diverse populations.
- The goal is to assess if a model that optimizes outreach and intervention strategy leads to higher clinical improvement rates for populations with EDs compared to traditional methods that only reach a limited number of individuals.
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- The Internet-based Healthy Body Image (HBI) Program was tested at 28 universities to screen students for eating disorder risks and connect them to tailored interventions.
- Nearly 4,900 students completed the screening, revealing that about 60% of those screened were at high risk for eating disorders.
- The study underscores the need for broader outreach for HBI, as well as the importance of timely interventions, especially for the high-risk group showing significant pathology and impairment.
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- * Over time, some symptoms related to eating disorders and mental health improved, but many participants still felt negative emotions like shame and sadness after the referral for help.
- * Despite the seriousness of their conditions, only a third were in treatment at the start, and while 26% sought help later, many didn't due to beliefs about self-reliance, doubts about the severity of their issues, or lack of time.