Abstract
The COVID-19 lockdown has negatively affected individuals’ welfare. However, there has been no research published heretofore about the levels of self-concept (SC) in adolescents, nor how having practised martial arts (MA) or any physical activity (PA) before the lockdown may have influenced the SC in that time. Hence, this study aimed to analyze some demographic, physical, and psychosocial parameters in Spanish adolescents throughout the COVID-19 quarantine through a cross-sectional investigation, establishing correlations among these factors. Methods: The present study had a descriptive, comparative, and cross-sectional design. The sample comprised of 54 (39.7%) male and 82 (60.3%) female Spanish adolescents aged 12–18 (M = 14.49; SD = 1.80). An ad-hoc questionnaire collected sociodemographic data; the self-concept Form 5 (AF5) questionnaire obtained data on SC dimensions. Results: There were some differences among the SC dimensions, with family and academic dimensions having higher values than the physical and emotional ones. Females’ academic SC was higher than that of males (p = 0.019). The practice of PA before the lockdown was positively associated with physical (p < 0.001) and social (p = 0.012) SC, yet there was no significant association between the previous practice of MA and SC (p > 0.050). Conclusions: the findings suggest that the COVID-19 lockdown negatively affected Spanish adolescents by decreasing their total SC and some dimensions of it, although PA may buffer psychological harmfulness in adolescents.
Highlights
Self-concept (SC), which is a broadly investigated construct defined as one’s knowledge and image of oneself, varies during one’s lifetime according to the degree of the individual’s identification as being an integral part of humanity and part of the universe as a whole [1]
The sample came from different settlements in southern Spain, requiring the participation of the ones who had sent in their informed consent prior to the experiment
Regarding SC, both the tFS (M = 3.98) and academic self-concept (AS) (M = 3.85) dimensions had the highest values, in contrast to the physical self-concept (PS) (M = 3.29) and emotional self-concept (EmS) (M = 3.33) dimensions, which stood for the lowest values
Summary
Self-concept (SC), which is a broadly investigated construct defined as one’s knowledge and image of oneself, varies during one’s lifetime according to the degree of the individual’s identification as being an integral part of humanity and part of the universe as a whole [1]. People tend to observe external stimuli and replicate that behavior [2]. In this way, SC takes on people’s transition to a new environment, given that the present SC is seen as changes based on the past SC, in order to achieve the ideal/future SC [3,4]. People with a low SC tend to adjust their online self-presentation to be socially praised [9,10] and, SC helps individuals control their anxiety and cope better with
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
