Effects of being a peer-leader in an eating disorder prevention program: can we further reduce eating disorder risk factors?

Studies regarding the effect of peer-leadership on peer-leaders in prevention programs remain extremely limited. In this study, 83 undergraduate sorority members, who previously participated in the program, served as peer-leaders for an eating disorder prevention program. Peer-leaders attended 9 hours of training and then led two 2-hour sessions. Leaders showed decreases (beyond participation in earlier studies) in dietary restraint, bulimic pathology, body dissatisfaction, and thin-ideal internalization from pre-training through 7-week follow up. Results from this exploratory study suggest that peer-leaders who participate in a program and subsequently lead it may experience additional benefits compared to participation in the program alone.