Happy to write: A first study about the influence of writing on your mood

The aim of the study is to investigate the effectiveness of a brief manipulation aimed at improving the body image of adolescents with an eating disorder. The study investigates the short-term effects of writing assignments about body functionality in an experiment with a duration of approximately 75 minutes in total. Participants are randomly assigned to the experimental or control group.

We expect that the participants from the experimental group are improved in terms of state measures of body image, compared to the control group.

There are four assessment points in the experimental group: before the intervention, after the intervention and after 15 and 30 minutes.

There are three assessment points is the control group: before the control task, after the control task and after the intervention.

The experimental manipulation consists of short writing assignments in which adolescents learn to focus on what their body can do
(body functionality), for example senses, exercise, health, creative activities, personal care and communication with others.

The control task consists of comparable writing assignments about observing details during daily routines.

Both groups receive both tasks. The experimental group first receives the intervention and then the control task. The control group first receives the control task and then the intervention.