Stapleton, P. B., Chatwin, H., William, M., Hutton, A., Pain, A., Porter, B. et al. · Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing · 2016
In 44 students randomized to a six-week EFT group program or waitlist, a delayed effect emerged at follow-up with improved eating habits, self-esteem, and self-compassion in both groups.
If these delayed benefits are confirmed in future replication, picture a teenager struggling with disordered eating patterns and low self-esteem given a school-based group program that teaches a technique they can keep administering to themselves for free, seeds of change surfacing even after the sessions end. That kind of quietly building benefit could matter in schools looking for accessible, non-stigmatizing mental health support for teens.
The delayed emergence of benefits here — showing up at follow-up rather than right after sessions end — is itself an interesting puzzle worth tracking with repeated measures between session end and follow-up, possibly alongside periodic cortisol or stress-reactivity sampling, to map what's actually happening during that gap. Testing whether school-based group delivery holds up across more diverse teen populations, and at larger scale, would also clarify how generalizable this pattern is.
| Design | Randomized trial |
|---|---|
| Participants | 44 people |
| Population | 14-15 year old students |
| Comparison group | waitlist control |
| Outcome measures | eating habits measure, self-esteem scale, self-compassion scale, psychological distress measure |
| Journal | Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing |
| Year | 2016 |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Method | EFT / tapping |
| Publication type | Study / trial |
| Verification | ✓ Confirmed against the primary source |
Stapleton, P. B., Chatwin, H., William, M., Hutton, A., Pain, A., Porter, B., & Sheldon, T. (2016). A randomised clinical pilot trial: Do emotional freedom techniques impact eating habits in 14 to 15 year olds, as well as self-esteem, self-compassion, and psychological distress?. Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2015.12.001
This record is part of the Tapping Evidence Base — an openly-sourced, fully-referenced directory of the research on EFT/tapping. Explore more studies on Weight & Food Cravings
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