Empowering self-critical perfectionistic students: A waitlist controlled feasibility trial of an explanatory feedback intervention on daily coping processes.

This study of 176 university students tested a single-session explanatory feedback intervention (EFI), derived from the perfectionism coping processes model. Participants with higher self-critical perfectionism completed daily measures of stress appraisals, coping, and affect for 7 days. A randomized control design was used to compare an EFI condition with a waitlist control condition over 4 weeks with individualized feedback delivered one-on-one by student trainees in-person or remotely through videoconferencing. The feasibility of the individualized analyses of each participant's daily data was supported by identifying daily trigger patterns, maintenance tendencies, strengths, common triggers, and best targets for reducing negative mood and increasing positive mood across several stressors for each participant. Participant ratings indicated that the comprehensive feedback was coherent and functional. Participants in the EFI condition, compared to those in the control condition, reported increases in empowerment, coping self-efficacy, and problem-focused coping, as well as decreases in depressive and anxious symptoms. Between-group effect sizes were moderate-to-large. There were reliable improvements in empowerment and depressive symptoms for 56% and 36%, respectively, of participants in the EFI condition. These findings demonstrate the broad applicability, conceptual utility, and effectiveness of the EFI for self-critical perfectionistic individuals. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Efficacy of ACT-based treatments for dysregulated eating behaviours: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: An increasing number of studies have investigated the efficacy of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for the reduction of dysregulated eating behaviours such as binge eating and emotional eating. However, little is known about their short- and long-term efficacy and underlying mechanisms of change. OBJECTIVES: To conduct a systematic effect size analysis to estimate the efficacy of ACT-based treatments on measures of dysregulated eating and of psychological flexibility, a theorized ACT mechanism of change. METHODS: Literature searches were conducted in PsycInfo, Medline, Web of Science, and ProQuest Dissertations. Within-group and between-group standardized mean differences were computed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Version 3. Additional subgroup and meta-regression analyses by study characteristics were conducted. RESULTS: A total of 20 publications (22 samples, n = 1269) were included. Pre-post and pre-follow-up effects suggest that ACT-based treatments are moderately effective in reducing dysregulated eating behaviours and increasing psychological flexibility. These effects were comparable for binge-eating and emotional eating outcomes and for face-to-face interventions, Web-based interventions, and interventions that used a self-help book. Longer treatments were associated with larger outcome effect sizes, and changes in psychological flexibility were not associated with changes in dysregulated eating outcomes. Small significant effects were found in favour of ACT when compared to inactive control groups. The only three studies that included active control groups and did not show significant differences in outcomes between ACT and other treatments. CONCLUSION: Future studies should aim to compare ACT-based treatments to active treatments and to provide empirical evidence for the theoretical mediating role of psychological flexibility in reported changes in eating behaviour.