Boys Research

Jessie's Hope recognizes that eating and weight disturbance issues are not just a female issue.  More and more, boys and men are being affected.  The prevention messages that are being relayed to girls are not adequate enough in addressing the key issues that arise with boys.  Therefore, Jessie's Hope has initiated a 3 year program on the "Prevention of Eating of Weight Disturbance Issues Among Boys" Research Project.   This program consists of a three phase process.

Phase I - In this first phase of the program, we are currently doing research on determining how to best support boys in developing the skills to prevent eating and weight disturbance issues. Funding has been provided to research and develop a comprehensive literature review,  theoretical framework and a draft program content that will be used for training purposes.  This phase of the program is expected to be completed by the Spring of 2007. 

Phase II - The second phase will consist of the final content development for the training, pilot testing the materials, creating a gender-inclusive set of training materials to support the trainers and an evaluation component.  Phase II will be implemented upon the completion of phase I, sometime in the late Spring of 2007.

Phase III - The final phase will be the results of phase I research and phase II development that will guide the inclusion of a full prevention program for both boys and girls.  Phase III will be implemented at the start of the school year in 2008.


If you are interested in any part of this work and would like to be considered when bids go out to tender, please notify our office with your contact information.