Clinical Research Directory

Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of the HADAS Program for the Prevention of Eating Disorders in Adolescent Female Athletes, Coaches, and Families.

Adolescent female athletes in aesthetic sports disciplines (such as rhythmic gymnastics, artistic gymnastics, synchronized swimming, and figure skating) face a complex interaction between general sociocultural beauty pressures and sport-specific aesthetic demands (e.g., the 'slim to win' culture and weight-focused performance expectations). These combined pressures significantly increase their risk of developing body dissatisfaction and eating disorders (EDs). To address these systemic vulnerabilities, the HADAS Program (Habits, Eating, Sports, Adolescents, and Health) was developed as a multi-level, synchronized psychoeducational intervention designed to target the complete "sports triangle": adolescent female athletes, their technical coaches, and their immediate family members. The primary objective of this cluster randomized controlled trial (cluster RCT) is to evaluate the efficacy of the HADAS Program in reducing eating disorder risk (EAT-26) and body image dissatisfaction (BSQ-34) among competitive adolescent female athletes aged 12 to 16 years. Sports clubs are randomly assigned to either the Experimental Group (receiving the HADAS intervention) or a Waitlist Control Group (maintaining standard training). The program includes 5 interactive group sessions for athletes, 4 reflective workshops for coaches, and 2 structured sessions for family members, all supported by cohort-specific workbooks. Outcomes are evaluated across four longitudinal time points: Baseline (T0), Immediate Post-intervention (T1), 6-month Follow-up (T2), and 12-month Follow-up (T3).

Expand Your Horizon-Spanish

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate whether Expand Your Horizon (EYH), a brief writing intervention focused on body functionality, can improve body image in university students aged 18 to 30 years in Spain and Argentina. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does EYH improve body appreciation and appreciation of body functionality compared with an active control condition? Are changes in body image flexibility, self-compassion, and mentalization potential mechanisms underlying improvements in body image? Researchers will compare EYH with an active control program involving creative writing exercises to evaluate the effects of the intervention. Participants will: Complete online questionnaires before the intervention, immediately after it, and one month later. Complete three writing exercises over approximately five days. Participants in the EYH group will write about their body's functions and their personal meaning, while those in the control group will complete creative writing exercises. Answer questions about their experience of the intervention, including satisfaction and acceptability. Have their written responses to the EYH exercises analyzed qualitatively to explore how they describe and understand their bodies and body functionality.