Effects of a 6-week aerobic dance intervention on body image and physical self-perceptions in adolescent girls
Introduction
Body image relates to an individual's perceptions, feelings and thoughts about one's body and incorporates body size estimation, evaluation of Body Attractiveness, and emotions associated with body shape and size (Grogan, 1999). Adolescent females in Westernised societies such as the US and the UK are subjected to powerful culturally determined pressures to be very thin (Smolak, 2004). As a result, body image dissatisfaction is particularly high among this population group. Evidence shows that dissatisfaction with appearance in general is associated with low self-esteem in adolescent females (Harter, 1993, Tiggemann, 2004).
Self-esteem or self-worth, the awareness of good possessed by the self (Biddle, Fox, & Boutcher, 2000), and self-perceptions, the multifaceted way a person ‘sees’ themselves derived from social and visual cues (Fox & Corbin, 1989), have taken a central role in the explanation of human behaviour. Self-worth has been identified as the psychological variable with the greatest potential to reflect psychological benefits gained from physical activity (Biddle & Mutrie, 2001). Regular participation in physical activity confers many positive health outcomes in young people such as the reduced risk of coronary heart disease, hypertension, depression and obesity (Armstrong & Welsman, 1997; Biddle et al., 2000). However, research has shown that children may not be engaging in sufficient physical activity for health benefits (Armstrong, Welsman, & Kirby, 2000; Duncan, Woodfield, Al-Nakeeb, & Nevill, 2002) and this is of concern as physical activity habits that develop in childhood may persist into adult life (Harro & Riddoch, 2000). Thus, the need to promote a positive body image and establish physical activity habits in childhood may be of vital importance to children's future health (Duncan, Al-Nakeeb, Nevill, & Jones, 2004).
Previous research that has examined the relationship between body image and self-worth have shown that exercising to lose weight is a common practice among adolescent females, and weight loss is one of the main reasons cited by adolescent females for engaging in physical activity. Participation in physical activity would appear to have considerable potential benefit, especially for female adolescents, in terms of alleviating and counteracting body image dissatisfaction, both directly because of its weight loss benefits and indirectly through improved self-worth (Crossen & Raymore, 1997). Given the high prevalence of body image dissatisfaction among adolescent females and the potential use of specific activities as a primary mode of achieving the ‘slim ideal’, it would seem possible that body image concerns can serve as a dominant predictor of physical activity behaviour among adolescent females.
Evidence from previous research that has examined the relationship between self-worth and physical activity reveals inconclusive or ambiguous results due to poor methodological designs, instrumentation, an absence of theoretical direction and failure to consider the multidimensionality of self-worth (Sonstroem, 1984, Sonstroem and Morgan, 1989). Conceptualizing self-worth as a multidimensional construct has lead researchers to adopt a multidimensional and hierarchical approach to examine self-worth in the physical domain (Whitehead, 1995). This approach has resulted in the development of the Children and Youth Physical Self-Perception Profile (CY-PSPP; Whitehead, 1995). The CY-PSPP examines physical self-perceptions in four areas: Sports Competence, Physical Condition, Body Attractiveness and Strength Competence and higher order measures of Physical Self-Worth (PSW) and Global Self-Esteem. To date, several studies have adopted this multidimensional and hierarchical approach to examine the effect of physical activity programs on self-worth and body image.
Caruso and Gill (1992) found no significant changes in body image satisfaction, physical self-perceptions or global self-esteem over a 10-week exercise program with male and female university students. Similar findings were reported by Asçi, Ayşe, and Koşar (1998) using an 8-week aerobic dance program with Turkish undergraduates. However, Daley and Buchanan (1999) found a significant improvement in all CY-PSPP physical self-perception subscales after 5 weeks of aerobic dance with British female adolescents. Contrary to these positive findings, Walters and Martin (2000) reported no significant improvement in any physical self-perceptions in American school children after 13 weeks of aerobic exercise. One possible explanation for the disparity between Walters and Martin (2000) findings and those of Daley and Buchanan (1999) may be the presence of a ceiling effect in the former study, as pre test scores were generally high leaving little room for improvement. It seems reasonable to hypothesize that physical activity programs will produce optimal significant improvements in body image satisfaction and physical self-perceptions with individuals who are low in these characteristics originally.
Young people's perceptions of their physical competence (the belief in one's skills and abilities in particular domains) have been shown to be an important and consistent predictor of their participation, effort and long term interest in sport and physical activity (Crocker, Eklund, & Kowalski, 2000; Daley, 2002, Hagger et al., 1998). These studies lend support to Harter's (1985) competence motivation theory which proposes that perceived competence is a primary motivational factor underlying voluntary participation in any sport or physical activity. Central to this theory is the importance of desire to show competence. According to Harter (1985), perceptions of competence are associated with successful performance and are critical determinants of subsequent motivation to participate. In other words, individuals who perceive themselves as competent in a particular activity are more likely to continue their participation and exert effort, while those low in perceived physical competence are less likely to exert effort and continue their participation in that activity.
While there is considerable amount of research regarding body image and physical activity in athletes (Loland, 1998), there is little information regarding those who do not regularly engage in sport and/or physical activity. Hence, the focus of the present study was to examine the effects of a specific physical activity intervention on the body image dissatisfaction and physical self-perceptions on the non-exerciser: an individual not involved in any regular physical activity outside the School curriculum. As many of these adolescent females perceive physical education lessons as off putting because they are seen as competitive and threatening (Van Wersch, 1997), the current physical activity program was designed to provide positive feedback to all participants and increase feelings of competence and motivation (Chepyator-Thompson & Ennis, 1997).
Swimming has been reported to be one of the most disliked physical education lessons by adolescent females (American Association of University Women, 1990). Dislike for swimming has often been attributed to the competitive nature of lessons and pupils feeling physically incompetent and embarrassed about their performance (Liggett, Burwitz, & Grogan, 2003). Therefore, participants in the current study were given the opportunity to choose a physical activity that, although not part of the physical education curriculum at the time, had the potential to enable participants to feel physically competent and confident (Liggett et al., 2003). As such, aerobic dance was deemed appropriate for this group as, according to Chepyator-Thompson and Ennis (1997), it (a) does not appear to compromise their concept of femininity; (b) provides a sense of social support; (c) serves the importance attached to body image and physical appearance; (d) fulfils their participation motives; (e) is usually performed in a non-competitive environment.
Based on Harter's (1985) competence motivation theory, it was predicted that female adolescents who participated in 6 weeks of aerobic dance would report significant improvements in body image dissatisfaction and physical self-perception scores in contrast to a conventional British physical education swimming program.
Section snippets
Participants
Fifty British schoolgirls aged 13–14-year old (mean age 13.5 ± 0.3), were recruited from a Specialist Sports College in the UK. Participants were identified from baseline data taken at the beginning of the academic year. The baseline data included body attitudes, physical self-perception and self-reported physical activity levels. Individuals identified as having high body image dissatisfaction and low physical self-perceptions and physical activity levels (n = 55) were selected to take part in
Results
Means, standard deviations and MANOVA/ANOVA results for both the Aerobic-PE and PE-Aerobic groups are presented in Table 1.
Discussion
The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that participation in 6 weeks of aerobic dance would significantly improve body attitudes and physical self-perceptions in 13–14-year-old females with initially low body attitudes and physical self-perceptions. In accordance with this hypothesis, the results revealed that participation in 6 weeks of aerobic dance enhanced body attitudes and physical self-perceptions. Taking each body attitude and physical self-perception subscale in turn,
Acknowledgements
This research was made possible by the support of Wright Robinson Sports College. The authors would also like to express their thanks to Mrs. N. Cantrell (Deputy Head) and all the physical education staff and the 50 participants for their commitment and contribution.
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