Helena Lewis-Smith's Outputs (42)

The psychosocial outcomes following cosmetic surgery are largely unknown: A systematic review (2025)
Journal Article

Introduction: Cosmetic surgery is marketed and widely assumed to have positive psychosocial outcomes, particularly in relation to body image, self-esteem and mental health. The present systematic review aimed to conduct a timely, up-to-date assessmen... Read More about The psychosocial outcomes following cosmetic surgery are largely unknown: A systematic review.

“I was taught to think of my body as too sexual:” Comparative thematic analysis of parent and peer messages about the body during adolescence (2025)
Journal Article

Parents and peers play an important role in adolescents' body image and embodiment. Messages girls receive about sex and puberty during these formative years can contribute to either positive embodiment or disrupted/disconnected embodiment. To better... Read More about “I was taught to think of my body as too sexual:” Comparative thematic analysis of parent and peer messages about the body during adolescence.

A comic-based body image intervention for adolescents in semi-rural Indian schools: A randomised controlled trial (2025)
Journal Article

Adolescents in India experience body dissatisfaction and its associated adverse impacts on physical and mental health and gender equality. However, evidence-based interventions are scarce. Mental health interventions worldwide have traditionally reli... Read More about A comic-based body image intervention for adolescents in semi-rural Indian schools: A randomised controlled trial.

Accepting your Body after Cancer (ABC), a group-based online intervention for women treated for breast cancer: Study protocol for a feasibility randomised controlled trial (2025)
Journal Article

Introduction Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide. While increasing numbers of women are living beyond breast cancer, treatment-related body image concerns are common and associated with adverse consequences. Nonetheless, rig... Read More about Accepting your Body after Cancer (ABC), a group-based online intervention for women treated for breast cancer: Study protocol for a feasibility randomised controlled trial.

Adaptation and validation of the Body Image Life Disengagement Questionnaire (BILD-Q) for use in Hindi among adolescents in semi-rural India (2024)
Journal Article

Body image concerns are prevalent among adolescents globally, including in urban and semi-rural India. These concerns have the potential to hinder adolescents' participation in everyday activities, thereby obstructing both social and academic develop... Read More about Adaptation and validation of the Body Image Life Disengagement Questionnaire (BILD-Q) for use in Hindi among adolescents in semi-rural India.

The impact of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization on young women's experiences of objectification and sexual well-being (2024)
Journal Article

The Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision overturned two previous rulings that had affirmed the constitutional right to abortion prior to fetal viability. While important work has been published about the legal, moral, professional, a... Read More about The impact of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization on young women's experiences of objectification and sexual well-being.

Adaptation and validation of the Body Image Life Disengagement Questionnaire (BILD-Q) for use in English among adolescents in urban India (2023)
Journal Article

Body image concerns are a global issue among adolescents, including in India. These concerns can prevent adolescents from engaging in everyday life activities, impeding social and academic development. However, at present, there are no psychometrical... Read More about Adaptation and validation of the Body Image Life Disengagement Questionnaire (BILD-Q) for use in English among adolescents in urban India.

Adaptation and validation of the Child Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (ChEDE-Q) for use in English among adolescents in Urban India (2023)
Journal Article

Eating pathology is increasingly common among Indian adolescents. However, brief validated measures of disordered eating in Indian contexts are scarce. This study adapted and validated a culturally appropriate English language version of the Child Ea... Read More about Adaptation and validation of the Child Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (ChEDE-Q) for use in English among adolescents in Urban India.

A short-form drama series created for the digital media environment: A randomised controlled trial exploring effects on girls’ body satisfaction, acceptance of appearance diversity, and appearance-related internalised racism (2023)
Journal Article

‘Edutainment’ micro-interventions are a scalable public health strategy that can challenge media-related body image pressures and race- and weight- based stigma. This study evaluated the impact of viewing a brief, theoretically-informed, short-form d... Read More about A short-form drama series created for the digital media environment: A randomised controlled trial exploring effects on girls’ body satisfaction, acceptance of appearance diversity, and appearance-related internalised racism.

“Like putting on an old pair of gloves” or “realising I am actually over it”: A qualitative study exploring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown restrictions on eating disorder recovery in the UK (2023)
Journal Article

The COVID-19 pandemic lockdown restrictions posed unique challenges for people living with eating disorders (EDs), particularly relating to social isolation and changes in treatment access. However, less is known about the experience of lockdown for... Read More about “Like putting on an old pair of gloves” or “realising I am actually over it”: A qualitative study exploring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown restrictions on eating disorder recovery in the UK.

Evaluating a body image school-based intervention in India: A randomized controlled trial (2023)
Journal Article

Body dissatisfaction is highly prevalent among adolescents in low- and middle- income countries, including in India. However, evidence-based interventions are lacking. This study evaluated the efficacy of a school-based mixed-gender body image interv... Read More about Evaluating a body image school-based intervention in India: A randomized controlled trial.

Comics as a body image intervention among adolescents in Indian Hindi medium schools: insights from an acceptability study. (2022)
Journal Article

Indian adolescents experience body dissatisfaction. However, empirically supported interventions are lacking, particularly in lower socio-economic regions of India. This paper describes the acceptability testing of a six-session teacher-led comics-ba... Read More about Comics as a body image intervention among adolescents in Indian Hindi medium schools: insights from an acceptability study..

A comic-based body image intervention for adolescents in semi-rural Indian schools: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial (2022)
Journal Article

Adolescents in India experience body dissatisfaction, however, empirically supported interventions are lacking. This paper describes the protocol for the development, acceptability testing, and cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a six-sessi... Read More about A comic-based body image intervention for adolescents in semi-rural Indian schools: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Exploring the experiences and psychosocial support needs of informal carers of men with breast cancer: A qualitative study (2022)
Journal Article

Purpose: The provision of practical and emotional support for men who have been diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK falls primarily on their partners, close family members or friends. However, informal carers’ experiences are omitted from the rese... Read More about Exploring the experiences and psychosocial support needs of informal carers of men with breast cancer: A qualitative study.

A qualitative exploration of motivations for fasting and the impact of Ramadan on eating behaviors and body image among young adult Muslim women in the United Kingdom (2021)
Journal Article

Research exploring the impact of fasting in Ramadan on eating behaviors has focused on Muslim-majority countries and has neglected to examine impacts beyond the month when “normal” eating patterns resume. This study aimed to explore the experiences o... Read More about A qualitative exploration of motivations for fasting and the impact of Ramadan on eating behaviors and body image among young adult Muslim women in the United Kingdom.

"I listen to my body now": A qualitative exploration of positive body image in breast cancer survivors (2021)
Journal Article

Objective: Existing research has identified the high prevalence of body image concerns among female breast cancer survivors. However, it has neglected to explore the experience of positive body image among this group, despite its potential utility fo... Read More about "I listen to my body now": A qualitative exploration of positive body image in breast cancer survivors.

Acceptability and preliminary efficacy of a school-based body image intervention in urban India: A pilot randomised controlled trial (2021)
Journal Article

This pilot study evaluated the acceptability and preliminary efficacy of a culturally adapted school-based body image intervention, Dove Confident Me, for use in urban India. Two private schools in New Delhi were randomly assigned at the school level... Read More about Acceptability and preliminary efficacy of a school-based body image intervention in urban India: A pilot randomised controlled trial.

Cultural adaptation and validation of the Body Esteem Scale for Adults and Adolescents for use in English among adolescents in urban India (2021)
Journal Article

Body image research is growing in India; however, there are no psychometrically valid measures to assess body image concerns among an Indian population. In this study, the Body Esteem Scale for Adults and Adolescents (BESAA) underwent adaptation and... Read More about Cultural adaptation and validation of the Body Esteem Scale for Adults and Adolescents for use in English among adolescents in urban India.

Game on! A randomised controlled trial evaluation of playable technology in improving body satisfaction and negative affect among adolescents (2021)
Journal Article

Playables are mini-games used in digital advertising and may offer a novel and engaging avenue to improve young people’s well-being at scale. This randomised controlled trial evaluated the immediate impact and protective properties of a psychoeducati... Read More about Game on! A randomised controlled trial evaluation of playable technology in improving body satisfaction and negative affect among adolescents.

A narrative review of motivations for dating app use and associated sexual behaviors: Recommendations to promote safe sex among Indian dating app users (2021)
Journal Article

India is witnessing a rapid increase in the use of dating apps such as Tinder, which provide heterosexual individuals with access to many potential sexual partners, thereby increasing their propensity to engage in risky sexual behaviours. Adopting a... Read More about A narrative review of motivations for dating app use and associated sexual behaviors: Recommendations to promote safe sex among Indian dating app users.