Overview
Adolescence is a critical period for the development of enduring patterns of bodily self-perception. Anxiety sensitivity, the tendency to interpret physical, cognitive, and social manifestations of arousal as threatening, is associated with eating psychopathology and body image disturbance, suggesting that maladaptive interpretation of bodily signals may represent a shared and modifiable mechanism.
This randomized controlled trial will test whether Floatation-REST (Reduced Environmental Stimulation Therapy), which attenuates exteroceptive input while enhancing awareness of internal bodily signals, can modify these processes in adolescents. Eighty girls aged 13–18 with elevated anxiety sensitivity and clinically meaningful eating-related/body image concerns will be randomized to six sessions of community-delivered Floatation-REST or an active mindfulness comparator. Outcomes assessed through 6-month follow-up will include anxiety sensitivity, eating disorder symptomatology, body dissatisfaction, and perceptual body representation measured using Somatomap 3D. Session-anchored measures of cardiac, respiratory, and gastrointestinal experience will test whether changes in the intensity and emotional valence of interoceptive sensations predict durable clinical improvement.
By contrasting sensory attenuation with attentional training, this study will determine whether changing how adolescents experience their bodies can alter anxiety and body representation, while testing a scalable model for translating interoceptive neuroscience into community settings.