A school-based intervention to improve media literacy and promote body esteem among adolescents in Honduras

ISRCTN	ISRCTN93325309
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN93325309
Sponsor	Durham University
Funder	UK Research and Innovation

Submission date: 22/09/2026
Registration date: 24/09/2026
Last edited: 24/09/2026

Recruitment status: Recruiting
Overall study status: Ongoing
Condition category: Other

Prospectively registered

Protocol

Statistical analysis plan

Results

Individual participant data

Record updated in last year

Plain English summary of protocol

Background and study aims
Body dissatisfaction and low media literacy are common problems in young people and can affect their mental health.
Despite this, there are very few programmes to improve body image and media literacy that have been tested in Latin American countries. This study is testing a classroom-based programme aimed at helping adolescents feel better about their bodies by improving their understanding of how the media can influence appearance ideals. The programme includes four sessions, all activities are interactive and aimed at adolescents between 11 and 17 years. A small pilot study in San Pedro Sula, Honduras (involving 124 students) showed that the program was both acceptable to students and potentially effective. We are now planning to assess the effectiveness of the intervention program with 1250 adolescents.

Who can participate?
Adolescents in grades 7 to 10 (11 to 17 years old) from five different regions in Honduras (Cortes, Comayagua , Atlántida, Colón, Islas de la Bahía)

What does the study involve?
The study involves participating in a four-session intervention during school time where we talk about media, appearance pressures, comparisons and appearance comments. Before and after the sessions, we will give participants some questionnaires to fill out about how they feel about your body, media literacy, appearance comparisons, general wellbeing, eating disorder symptoms, risky appearance-related behaviours and attitudes about skin colour. These questionnaires will be collected at three different time points: before the program starts (baseline), 1 week after it ends (post-test) and 2 weeks (follow-up).

What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
We expect participants to feel better about themselves and improve their media literacy skills. We do not expect any risks or negative consequences from participating in this study.

Where is the study run from?
Durham University (UK)

When is the study starting and how long is it expeted to run for?
September 2026 to December 2028

Who is funding the study?
The study is funded by the UKRI Horizon Guarantee scheme grant

Who is the main contact?
Prof. Lynda Boothroyd, l.g.boothroyd@durham.ac.uk

Contact information

Prof Lynda G Boothroyd
Scientific, Principal investigator

South Road
Durham
DH7 8LP
United Kingdom

ORCID ID	0000-0001-6660-5828
Phone	+44 (0)1913343240
Email	l.g.boothroyd@durham.ac.uk

Mr Mauricio Fernandez Isai
Public

F3C4+CQ4, Entrada A, 21101
San Pedro Sula
F3C4+CQ4
Honduras

Phone	+504 (0)98117826
Email	mauricioisai.fernandez@gmail.com

Study information

Primary study design	Interventional
Allocation	Randomized controlled trial
Masking	Open (masking not used)
Control	Active
Assignment	Parallel
Purpose	Prevention
Scientific title	A facilitator-delivered, school-based intervention to improve media literacy and promote body esteem among adolescents in Honduras: a cluster-randomized trial
Study acronym	BIRes
Study objectives	1. Examine whether participants assigned to the intervention group demonstrate greater improvements in media literacy, higher body esteem, and enhancements in secondary outcomes at post-intervention (timepoint 2) compared to those in the control group, relative to baseline levels. Further, we will assess whether changes were maintained at follow-up (timepoint 3). 2. Investigate the influence of potential moderating factors, such as socioeconomic status (SES), and geographical location, on the intervention’s effectiveness across primary, secondary and exploratory outcomes.
Ethics approval(s)	Approved 02/07/2024, Durham University Psychology Ethics Committee (South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, United Kingdom; +44 (0)1913343240; psychology.ethics@durham.ac.uk), ref: PSYCH-2024-0327-1476
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied	Body image and media literacy in adolescents
Intervention	Schools will be randomized to either the intervention or control group using an allocation sequence generated with computer-generated random numbers via researchrandomizer.org. “Soy como soy” is a school-based body image intervention and includes four 45-minute sessions. The intervention aims to improve media literacy and promote body esteem among adolescents. It is intended to be delivered in mixed gender classroom groups in 7th to 10th grade (adolescents aged 11 – 17 years), in groups of 20 - 40 participants. The activities are designed to enhance media literacy by promoting critical analysis of media messages, build resilience to appearance-related pressures, and encourage valuing the body for non-appearance-based qualities. Each of the four sessions includes elements of psychoeducation, interactive discussions supported by comics, and written exercises to promote self-reflection. Sessions will be delivered over a 2-week period, with schools able to choose between individual or double sessions according to their scheduling preferences and availability. The control group will receive the same intervention after post-test (timepoint 2), 4 weeks after baseline questionnaires. Participating schools will randomly be allocated to either intervention or control group.
Intervention type	Behavioural
Primary outcome measure(s)	Media literacy measured using the Perceived Reality Scale – Social Media (PRS-SM) at baseline (week 1), post-test (week 4), follow-up (week 7) Body esteem measured using the Body Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults (BESAA) at baseline (week 1), post-test (week 4), follow-up (week 7)
Key secondary outcome measure(s)	Comparison attitudes measured using the Multidimensional Physical Appearance Comparison Scale (M-PACS) at baseline (week 1), post-test (week 4), follow-up (week 7) Thin-ideal internalization measured using the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-4 (SATAQ-4) at baseline (week 1), post-test (week 4), follow-up (week 7) Curvy ideal internalization (girls only) measured using the Curvy Ideal Internalization scale (CII) at baseline (week 1), post-test (week 4), follow-up (week 7) Drive for muscularity (boys only) measured using the Drive for Muscularity Scale (DMS) subscale Muscularity-Oriented Body Image (MBI) at baseline (week 1), post-test (week 4), follow-up (week 7) Eating disorder symptoms measured using the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-QS) short version at baseline (week 1), post-test (week 4), follow-up (week 7) General wellbeing measured using the WHO-5 Wellbeing Questionnaire for Adolescents at baseline (week 1), post-test (week 4), follow-up (week 7) Attitudes toward and interest in risky appearance-altering behaviours (girls only) measured using the Risky Appearance-Altering Behaviours Inventory (RAABI) at baseline (week 1), post-test (week 4), follow-up (week 7) Colourism attitudes measured using Colorism scale self-concept and attractiveness subscales at baseline (week 1), post-test (week 4), follow-up (week 7) Skin colour satisfaction measured using one question: “How satisfied are you with your skin colour?”, which will be answered on a Likert scale from 1 (not at all satisfied) to 5 (very satisfied), at at baseline (week 1), post-test (week 4), follow-up (week 7) Materialism attitudes measured using the Materialism scale developed by the research team (manuscript in preparation) based on questions from Richins & Dawson (1992) at baseline (week 1), post-test (week 4), follow-up (week 7)
Completion date	01/12/2028

Eligibility

Participant type(s)
Age group	Child
Lower age limit	11 Years
Upper age limit	17 Years
Sex	All
Target sample size at registration	1250
Key inclusion criteria	1. Aged 11 – 17 years 2. Attending a participating school and class 3. Negative parental consent obtained before the start of the study 4. Written assent from adolescent participants before the start of the study 5. Being located in one of the five participating regions of Honduras (Cortes, Comayagua , Atlántida, Colón, Islas de la bahía)
Key exclusion criteria	1. Participants aged ≤ 11 or ≥ 17 years 2. Parents withdrew consent for their adolescent children to participate 3. Participants with mental health conditions (e.g., active eating disorders) are not excluded from the study. However, parents are advised to think carefully about whether their child’s participation in the study is in their best interest and if not, to withdraw their consent for participation in the study.
Date of first enrolment	09/09/2026
Date of final enrolment	09/09/2028

Locations

Countries of recruitment

Honduras

Study participating centres

Results and Publications

Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share	No

Editorial Notes

22/09/2026: Study's existence confirmed by the Durham University Psychology Ethics Committee.