The Interactive Media and Gender-related Stressors and Strengths Study

Part of paid clinical trials in Boston, Massachusetts.

Sponsor: Boston University
Study ID: NCT07836907
Status: Not Yet Recruiting

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Conditions

Eating Disorders
Substance Use

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: ALL
Age: 18 Years - 25 Years
Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

digital web based toolkit — OTHER
A brief, web-based psychoeducational intervention with 5 self-guided activities that build social media literacy skills which takes 25-45 minutes to complete.

Study Details

Emerging adulthood is a key developmental period with unique challenges, including elevated risk of substance use (including risky drinking, cigarette use, and illicit drug use), eating disorder symptoms, and severe psychological distress and suicidal ideation. This critical developmental period also offers an important opportunity for interventions to prevent adverse mental health outcomes in adulthood, particularly those related to substance use and disordered eating behaviors. Research suggests several relevant potential targets for preventive interventions in this age group. Online media, especially social media (e.g., Instagram), are used by 90% of U.S. young adults, offering unprecedented access to informational and social support for young adults. Yet online media also provide new channels for harmful exposure to stigma (e.g., online harassment) and sociocultural appearance ideals for young adults. Such exposures may cause or exacerbate substance use and adverse mental health outcomes. Existing brief interventions that improve media literacy (i.e., the ability to critically analyze and interpret media) and increase resistance to harmful sociocultural appearance ideals offer promise in supporting young adults to reduce body dissatisfaction and stress and coping behaviors (like substance use and disordered eating behaviors). However, these interventions have not previously accounted for the core role of body dissatisfaction or unique dimensions of social media literacy in young adults' health. Further, existing preventive interventions in this area have primarily been developed and tested with a focus on cisgender young people. To date, there are no gender-inclusive evidence-based interventions to address both social media-based stressors (e.g., harassment, appearance ideals) and resilience factors (e.g., social support) for young adults.

Key Dates

First listed: Sep 23, 2026
Start date: Nov 30, 2026
Status verified: Sep 2026
Primary completion: Sep 30, 2028
Completion: Sep 30, 2028

Study Design

Enrollment: 120 participants (estimated)
Allocation: NA
Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose: HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Arms

Experimental: IMAGES Project Digital Toolkit
Participants will be encouraged to complete the modules on an interactive website with a series of short didactic videos and interactive activities.