DClinPsy Portfolio Volume 1 of 3 - University of Hertfordshire ...

ACT suggests that inflexibility (i.e. cognitive fusion and experiential avoidance) may act
as a risk factor in the development of such problems. This project therefore seeks to
examine cross-sectionally whether inflexibility is indeed related to disordered eating and
body image acceptance in adolescent females.
Method
Design:
A non experimental, cross sectional, correlational research design was employed in order
to enable an examination of the relationships between the variables; disordered eating
measured as Eating Disorder Risk (EDR), body image dissatisfaction acceptance and
inflexibility in emotional processing.
Participants:
Ninety-six school aged female adolescents between the ages of 12-15, who returned a
signed parental consent form, were included in the study. Those who could not read and
write in English were excluded from the study, as the measures required written English.
Procedure:
Recruitment
The researcher approached seven secondary schools in London to ask for participants for
this study. Four schools agreed to take part and one school agreed but did not have any
consent forms returned so was not involved further in the study, the other two schools
refused to participate stating no reason. Those schools that accepted the invitation to be a
part of this study were given copies of a cover letter with information sheets and a
consent form for the parent/guardian, to be signed for each adolescent.
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