An interventional study of Educational and Interactive in Eating Disorders, Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa, sponsored by University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 30 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-05-05.
Sponsored by University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
Social processing and cognition are often altered in patients with eating disorders. The goal of this clinical trial is to assess two different social therapeutic interventions -- one educational, one interactive -- for their effectiveness in improving clinical outcomes in patients with eating disorders. Patients in both interventions will receive education about social function in eating disorders, but those in the interactive treatment group will complete an additional collaborative art task.
Participants will:
Researchers will compare changes in eating disorder, mood, and anxiety symptoms as well as test results from baseline and final study visits for each group to see if
Eating disorders are devastating psychiatric disorders that afflict approximately 2% of young women and men. While the specific determining factors in illness progression and recovery remain poorly understood, social environment is known to be closely associated with eating disorders. Onset occurs most commonly in adolescence and young adulthood, times of complex changes in social roles, and social stressors are common both when eating disorders begin and recur. These clinical observations suggest that the brain mechanisms that process social stimuli may differ for people with eating disorders and therefore serve as powerful therapeutic targets. A previous interventional pilot targeting social function in eating disorders through psychoeducation and experiential tasks produced clinical improvements in the patients enrolled. This project will extend those results to evaluate whether the benefits experienced by participants are related to the therapeutic group interaction or can be achieved with education alone. Enrollment will be expanded to include males and individuals with OSFED (Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorder) diagnoses. Additionally, to improve understanding of eating disorder course of illness, clinical symptoms, psychosocial behaviors, and neuropsychological function will be assessed at baseline and one year later.
Study Overview:
Participants who are unable or unwilling to complete their assigned intervention course will still be invited to complete follow-up assessments and a final study visit. This data will be valuable to the study's aim of better understanding the evolution of eating disorders over time.
740 studies on the registry are indexed under Feeding and Eating Disorders; 159 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 60 is below the median of 75 across 540 interventional studies indexed under Feeding and Eating Disorders.
Browse Feeding and Eating Disorders studies →University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center is the lead sponsor of 990 studies on the registry; 201 are open to participants now.
Of its 135 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 100 (74%) have results posted.
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Exclusion Criteria:
Behavioral: Educational
Behavioral: Interactive
The educational intervention is an 8-session series of informational presentations about brain function and altered social processing related to eating disorders. Participants will receive a reflective prompt to complete as homework and will have an opportunity to discuss their responses during the following session.
The interactive intervention is an 8-session series of experiential art therapy tasks followed by education about social processing. Participants will complete the tasks as a group or in small teams. Afterward, they will be encouraged to discuss their thoughts and feelings related to their experience. The educational component will include a homework assignment that participants will have the opportunity to discuss at the following session.
Change in eating disorder symptoms
The Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) measures the severity of eating disorder symptoms. Possible scores on global eating disorder pathology range from 0 to 6, with higher scores indicating greater severity. Scores of 2 or less are considered typical of normative eating behavior/cognitions, while scores of 3-6 suggest the presence of clinically significant eating disorder symptoms.
Time frame: pre-intervention (T0) to four months from start of intervention (T4)
Change in eating disorder symptoms
The Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) measures the severity of eating disorder symptoms. Possible scores on global eating disorder pathology range from 0 to 6, with higher scores indicating greater severity. Scores of 2 or less are considered typical of normative eating behavior/cognitions, while scores of 3-6 suggest the presence of clinically significant eating disorder symptoms.
Time frame: four months from start of intervention (T4) to eight months from start of intervention (T8)
Change in eating disorder symptoms
The Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) measures the severity of eating disorder symptoms. Possible scores on global eating disorder pathology range from 0 to 6, with higher scores indicating greater severity. Scores of 2 or less are considered typical of normative eating behavior/cognitions, while scores of 3-6 suggest the presence of clinically significant eating disorder symptoms.
Time frame: eight months from start of intervention (T8) to twelve months from start of intervention (T12)
Change in eating disorder symptoms
The Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) measures the severity of eating disorder symptoms. Possible scores on global eating disorder pathology range from 0 to 6, with higher scores indicating greater severity. Scores of 2 or less are considered typical of normative eating behavior/cognitions, while scores of 3-6 suggest the presence of clinically significant eating disorder symptoms.
Time frame: pre-intervention (T0) to twelve months from start of intervention (T12)
Change in depression symptoms
The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) is a 9-item measure of depression symptoms. Each item is rated on a four-point scale (0 = not at all; 1 = several days; 2 = more than half the days; 3 = nearly every day). Possible scores range from 0-27, allowing depression to be categorized as minimal (1-4), mild (5-9), moderate (10-14), moderately severe (15-19), or severe (20-27).
Time frame: pre-intervention (T0) to four months from start of intervention (T4)
Change in depression symptoms
The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) is a 9-item measure of depression symptoms. Each item is rated on a four-point scale (0 = not at all; 1 = several days; 2 = more than half the days; 3 = nearly every day). Possible scores range from 0-27, allowing depression to be categorized as minimal (1-4), mild (5-9), moderate (10-14), moderately severe (15-19), or severe (20-27).
Time frame: four months from start of intervention (T4) to eight months from start of intervention (T8)
Change in depression symptoms
The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) is a 9-item measure of depression symptoms. Each item is rated on a four-point scale (0 = not at all; 1 = several days; 2 = more than half the days; 3 = nearly every day). Possible scores range from 0-27, allowing depression to be categorized as minimal (1-4), mild (5-9), moderate (10-14), moderately severe (15-19), or severe (20-27).
Time frame: eight months from start of intervention (T8) to twelve months from start of intervention (T12)
Change in depression symptoms
The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) is a 9-item measure of depression symptoms. Each item is rated on a four-point scale (0 = not at all; 1 = several days; 2 = more than half the days; 3 = nearly every day). Possible scores range from 0-27, allowing depression to be categorized as minimal (1-4), mild (5-9), moderate (10-14), moderately severe (15-19), or severe (20-27).
Time frame: pre-intervention (T0) to twelve months from start of intervention (T12)
Change in anxiety symptoms
The General Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) is a 7-item measure of anxiety symptoms. Each item is rated on a four-point scale (0 = not at all, 1 = several days, 2 = more than half the days, and 3 = nearly every day). Possible scores range from 0-21, allowing anxiety to be classified as minimal (0-4), mild (5-9), moderate (10-14), or severe (15-21).
Time frame: pre-intervention (T0) to four months from start of intervention (T4)
Change in anxiety symptoms
The General Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) is a 7-item measure of anxiety symptoms. Each item is rated on a four-point scale (0 = not at all, 1 = several days, 2 = more than half the days, and 3 = nearly every day). Possible scores range from 0-21, allowing anxiety to be classified as minimal (0-4), mild (5-9), moderate (10-14), or severe (15-21).
Time frame: four months from start of intervention (T4) to eight months from start of intervention (T8)
Change in anxiety symptoms
The General Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) is a 7-item measure of anxiety symptoms. Each item is rated on a four-point scale (0 = not at all, 1 = several days, 2 = more than half the days, and 3 = nearly every day). Possible scores range from 0-21, allowing anxiety to be classified as minimal (0-4), mild (5-9), moderate (10-14), or severe (15-21).
Time frame: eight months from start of intervention (T8) to twelve months from start of intervention (T12)
Change in anxiety symptoms
The General Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) is a 7-item measure of anxiety symptoms. Each item is rated on a four-point scale (0 = not at all, 1 = several days, 2 = more than half the days, and 3 = nearly every day). Possible scores range from 0-21, allowing anxiety to be classified as minimal (0-4), mild (5-9), moderate (10-14), or severe (15-21).
Time frame: pre-intervention (T0) to twelve months from start of intervention (T12)
Change in overall levels of psychopathology
The DSM-5 Cross-Cutting Symptom Measure (DSM-XC) is a 23-item measure of overall levels of psychopathology across 13 psychiatric domains. Each item on the measure is rated on a 5-point scale (0=none or not at all; 1=slight or rare, less than a day or two; 2=mild or several days; 3=moderate or more than half the days; and 4=severe or nearly every day). The score on each item within a domain should be reviewed. Because additional inquiry is based on the highest score on any item within a domain, the clinician is asked to indicate that score in the "Highest Domain Score" column
Time frame: pre-intervention (T0) and at the last post-intervention follow-up (T12)
Change in eating disorder diagnosis
The Eating Disorder Diagnostic Assessment for DSM-5 (EDA-5) is a semi-structured clinical interview meant to assist in the assessment of a feeding or eating disorder according to DSM-5 criteria.
Time frame: baseline and final study visits (approximately 1 year apart)
Change in verbal learning and memory
California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT-3) is an individually administered assessment that measures both recall and recognition of two lists of words over a number of immediate and delayed memory trials. The CVLT 3 Core Report contains demographics, a core score summary, a scaled score profile, a standard score summary, a process score summary, and demographically adjusted core and standard scores, if selected. Item responses for all recall trials can also be selected for inclusion on the report.
Time frame: baseline and final study visits (approximately 1 year apart)
Change in visuospatial learning and memory
Ruff-Light Trail Learning Test (RULIT) is a measure of visuospatial learning and memory. The respondent is given a stimulus card containing a complex configuration of circles interconnected by lines and asked to use an index finger to trace a line connecting the circles from the START to the END. The task is repeated until participants trace the correct path in two consecutive trials. Immediate Memory is assessed by the number of steps correctly completed in Trial 2. Learning is assessed by the number of trials to master the task and the cumulative number of errors across Trials 2 through 10 (or until the task is mastered), and Long-term Recall is evaluated by having the respondent retrace the trail after a 60-minute delay.
Time frame: baseline and final study visits (approximately 1 year apart)
Change in sense of social connectedness
The Social Connectedness Scale (SCS) is a self-report questionnaire that measures the extent to which individuals feel connected to others in their social environment. It consists of 20 items that assess four different dimensions of social connectedness that include belongingness, closeness, support, and satisfaction. Individuals rate each item on a 6-point Likert scale, from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). Higher scores indicate a greater sense of social connectedness.
Time frame: pre-intervention (T0) to four months from start of intervention (T4)
Change in sense of social connectedness
The Social Connectedness Scale (SCS) is a self-report questionnaire that measures the extent to which individuals feel connected to others in their social environment. It consists of 20 items that assess four different dimensions of social connectedness that include belongingness, closeness, support, and satisfaction. Individuals rate each item on a 6-point Likert scale, from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). Higher scores indicate a greater sense of social connectedness.
Time frame: four months from start of intervention (T4) to eight months from start of intervention (T8)
Change in sense of social connectedness
The Social Connectedness Scale (SCS) is a self-report questionnaire that measures the extent to which individuals feel connected to others in their social environment. It consists of 20 items that assess four different dimensions of social connectedness that include belongingness, closeness, support, and satisfaction. Individuals rate each item on a 6-point Likert scale, from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). Higher scores indicate a greater sense of social connectedness.
Time frame: eight months from start of intervention (T8) to twelve months from start of intervention (T12)
Change in sense of social connectedness
The Social Connectedness Scale (SCS) is a self-report questionnaire that measures the extent to which individuals feel connected to others in their social environment. It consists of 20 items that assess four different dimensions of social connectedness that include belongingness, closeness, support, and satisfaction. Individuals rate each item on a 6-point Likert scale, from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). Higher scores indicate a greater sense of social connectedness.
Time frame: pre-intervention (T0) to twelve months from start of intervention (T12)
Change in perceived social support
The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support is a 12-item measure of perceived adequacy of social support from three sources -- family, friends, \& significant other -- using a 5-point Likert scale (0 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree).
Time frame: pre-intervention (T0) to four months from start of intervention (T4)
Change in perceived social support
The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support is a 12-item measure of perceived adequacy of social support from three sources -- family, friends, \& significant other -- using a 5-point Likert scale (0 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree).
Time frame: four months from start of intervention (T4) to eight months from start of intervention (T8)
Change in perceived social support
The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support is a 12-item measure of perceived adequacy of social support from three sources -- family, friends, \& significant other -- using a 5-point Likert scale (0 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree).
Time frame: eight months from start of intervention (T8) to twelve months from start of intervention (T12)
Change in perceived social support
The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support is a 12-item measure of perceived adequacy of social support from three sources -- family, friends, \& significant other -- using a 5-point Likert scale (0 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree).
Time frame: pre-intervention (T0) to twelve months from start of intervention (T12)
Change in trait self-esteem
Rosenberg trait self-esteem Scale (TSE) is a 10-item measure of global self-worth. Each item is rated on a four-point Likert scale from (1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = agree, 4 = strongly agree) and five items are reverse scored. Higher scores indicate higher self-esteem.
Time frame: pre-intervention (T0) to four months from start of intervention (T4)
Change in trait self-esteem
Rosenberg trait self-esteem Scale (TSE) is a 10-item measure of global self-worth. Each item is rated on a four-point Likert scale from (1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = agree, 4 = strongly agree) and five items are reverse scored. Higher scores indicate higher self-esteem.
Time frame: four months from start of intervention (T4) to eight months from start of intervention (T8)
Change in trait self-esteem
Rosenberg trait self-esteem Scale (TSE) is a 10-item measure of global self-worth. Each item is rated on a four-point Likert scale from (1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = agree, 4 = strongly agree) and five items are reverse scored. Higher scores indicate higher self-esteem.
Time frame: eight months from start of intervention (T8) to twelve months from start of intervention (T12)
Change in trait self-esteem
Rosenberg trait self-esteem Scale (TSE) is a 10-item measure of global self-worth. Each item is rated on a four-point Likert scale from (1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = agree, 4 = strongly agree) and five items are reverse scored. Higher scores indicate higher self-esteem.
Time frame: pre-intervention (T0) to twelve months from start of intervention (T12)
Change in social learning rates
Cyberball is is an online ball-tossing game that participants believe they are playing with three others. In the version we are using, one player (good) preferentially includes the participant, one (neutral) is equitable, and another player (bad) stops throwing the ball to the participant. Changes in the percentage of throws to each type of player indicate responsivity to social learning. The percentage of throws to the good player will increase while the percentage of throws to the bad player will decrease as participants become more attuned to valence of social interactions.
Time frame: baseline to final study visit (approximately 1 year apart)
Change in social reward learning
The Trust Game is a tend-round economic game in which two players take turns acting as "investor" and "trustee." The investor is given $20 and sends a portion to the trustee. The trustee receives three times the invested amount and returns some amount to the investor. This task provides total amounts earned; larger amounts indicate more attunement to the partner's behavior. We hypothesize that this will increase after the intervention due to improved sensitivity to others.
Time frame: baseline to final study visit (approximately 1 year apart)
Change in social learning biases
The Evaluation Learning Task presents participants with 6 computer personas across two conditions (self-referential or other-referential). Participants are given word pairs (e.g. 'witty' vs. 'dull') and are asked to guess which word the computer persona would use to describe them (SR) or 'George' (OR). Using the feedback on their selections (correct or incorrect), they must decide whether the computer persona liked or disliked them and to what degree (%). Participant response times and proportion of correct responses in each condition (like, neutral, or dislike) are used to evaluate learning rates and biases in each condition.
Time frame: baseline to final study visit (approximately 1 year apart)
Change in attribution biases
The Causal Attribution Task measures latent tendency to attribute positive and negative everyday events to internal (vs external) and global (vs specific) causes.
Time frame: baseline to final study visit (approximately 1 year apart)
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University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center