Evaluation of a Brief Influencer-Delivered Body Image Video

NCT07850037 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 16295625
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 1,600
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

A 60-second video will be created by a high-engaging adult female influencer via a partnership with an influencer agency, Dove/Unilever, and CAR to be delivered by the same influencer to her followers on Instagram and TikTok. The video will focus on sharing an evidence-informed exercise to support challenging appearance ideals and the development of body confidence among adult women. The research will involve three distinct parts:

• Conduct an online two-arm randomised control trial (RCT) with between 1000 to 1600 women to evaluate acceptability and efficacy of an influencer-delivered intervention video (versus an active control video)
• Explore the feasibility of recruiting participants via influencers on their social media platforms in the same two-arm RCT
• Conduct an online survey with 10-20 Canadian influencers recruited via an influencer agency to assess influencer opinions on creating and delivering evidence-based body image and other mental health content on their social media platforms, as well as their views on recruiting their followers for research participation

Conditions

Body Image

Keywords

body image; body satisfaction; positive body image; influencer; content creator; microintervention; parasocial relationship; women

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in state body satisfaction

  State body satisfaction will be measured by three items on a 101-point Visual Analogue Scales (VAS), ranging from "completely dissatisfied" (0) to "completely satisfied" (100). Items are: "How satisfied do you feel about your weight, right now?"; "How satisfied do you feel about your shape, right now?"; and "How satisfied do you feel about your appearance, right now?". Higher mean scores (of three items) indicates greater state body satisfaction.

  Time 1/T1 (baseline) and Time 2/T2 (immediately post-assessment)

Secondary Outcomes (5)

• Change in state body functionality satisfaction

  T1 (baseline) and T2 (immediately post-assessment)

• Trait appearance esteem

  T1 (baseline)

• Change in state body appreciation

  T1 (baseline) and T2 (immediately post-assessment)

• Intervention acceptability

  T2 (immediately post-assessment)

• Intervention engagement

  T2 (immediately post-assessment)

Other Outcomes (1)

• Strength of parasocial relationship

  T2 (immediately post-assessment)

Study Arms (2)

A 60-second video promoting body confidence

EXPERIMENTAL

Intervention is a 60-second video promoting body confidence for women delivered by an influencer

Behavioral: Beauty on your own terms video

A 60-second non-body confidence video

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

An influencer-created 60-second video not related to body confidence delivered by same influencer as intervention video.

Behavioral: Neurodiversity video

Interventions

Beauty on your own terms video BEHAVIORAL

A 60-second video will feature a young woman influencer speaking to the camera about strategies she is using to reject appearance ideals and establish beauty on her own terms to inspire her followers to do the same. The video is consistent with the content she posts on her Instagram and Tiktok public platforms.

A 60-second video promoting body confidence

Neurodiversity video BEHAVIORAL

A 60-second video created by the same influencer features the influencer speaking to the camera about key points around neurodiversity. This content is consistent with content she posts on her Instagram and TikTok platforms.

A 60-second non-body confidence video

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Gender Eligibility Details: People who self-identify as a woman are eligible to participate.
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• identifies as a woman 18 years or older

You may not qualify if:

• self-reported not being fluent in English (reading and writing)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of the West of England: lead
• Unilever R&D: collaborator

Related Publications (10)

• Ki, C. W. C., & Kim, Y. K. (2019). The mechanism by which social media influencers persuade consumers: The role of consumers' desire to mimic. Psychology & marketing, 36(10), 905-922.

  BACKGROUND

• Tylka TL, Linardon J, Wood-Barcalow NL, Danielsdottir S, Fuller-Tyszkiewicz M. Short forms of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2SF): Item selection and psychometric evaluation. Body Image. 2022 Jun;41:308-330. doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2022.04.001. Epub 2022 Apr 12.

  PMID: 35427857 BACKGROUND

• Alleva JM, Veldhuis J, Martijn C. A pilot study investigating whether focusing on body functionality can protect women from the potential negative effects of viewing thin-ideal media images. Body Image. 2016 Jun;17:10-3. doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2016.01.007. Epub 2016 Feb 12.

  PMID: 26878220 BACKGROUND

• Nissen M, Harperink S, Joshi P, Bischof AY, Schachner T, Lukic YX, Schneider F, Santhanam P, V Wangenheim F, Ollier J, Kowatsch T. Leveraging Influencers to Reach and Engage Vulnerable Individuals With a Digital Health Intervention: Quasi-Experimental Field Study. J Med Internet Res. 2025 Sep 5;27:e67174. doi: 10.2196/67174.

  PMID: 40911352 BACKGROUND

• Paraskeva N, Haywood S, Hasan F, Nicholls D, Toledano MB, Diedrichs PC. An exploration of having social media influencers deliver a first-line digital intervention to improve body image among adolescent girls: A qualitative study. Body Image. 2024 Dec;51:101753. doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2024.101753. Epub 2024 Jun 19.

  PMID: 38901182 BACKGROUND

• Haywood S, Diedrichs PC, Paraskeva N. Understanding adolescent girls' thoughts and opinions on having social media influencers deliver body image and mental health support: A mixed-methods study. Digit Health. 2025 Aug 3;11:20552076251361340. doi: 10.1177/20552076251361340. eCollection 2025 Jan-Dec.

  PMID: 40761776 BACKGROUND

• Guo M, Ganz O, Cruse B, Navarro M, Wagner D, Tate B, Delahanty J, Benoza G. Keeping It Fresh With Hip-Hop Teens: Promising Targeting Strategies for Delivering Public Health Messages to Hard-to-Reach Audiences. Health Promot Pract. 2020 Jan;21(1_suppl):61S-71S. doi: 10.1177/1524839919884545.

  PMID: 31908198 BACKGROUND

• Lutkenhaus RO, Jansz J, Bouman MP. Tailoring in the digital era: Stimulating dialogues on health topics in collaboration with social media influencers. Digit Health. 2019 Jan 28;5:2055207618821521. doi: 10.1177/2055207618821521. eCollection 2019 Jan-Dec.

  PMID: 30729023 BACKGROUND

• Bonnevie E, Smith SM, Kummeth C, Goldbarg J, Smyser J. Social media influencers can be used to deliver positive information about the flu vaccine: findings from a multi-year study. Health Educ Res. 2021 Jul 12;36(3):286-294. doi: 10.1093/her/cyab018.

  PMID: 34252187 BACKGROUND

• Mendelson BK, Mendelson MJ, White DR. Body-esteem scale for adolescents and adults. J Pers Assess. 2001 Feb;76(1):90-106. doi: 10.1207/S15327752JPA7601_6.

  PMID: 11206302 BACKGROUND

Study Officials

• Sharon Haywood, DPhil

  University of the West of England

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Sharon Haywood, DPhil

CONTACT

+441173286224; sharon.haywood@uwe.ac.uk

Nicole Paraskeva, DHealth

CONTACT

+441173287657; nicole.paraskeva@uwe.ac.uk

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: Masking is not possible for the investigator due to the trial design and protocol for data collection.
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 18, 2026
• First Posted: September 30, 2026
• Study Start (Estimated): October 5, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): October 30, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): October 30, 2026
• Last Updated: September 30, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share