Abstract
Objective: The aim of this research was to study the mediation of body dissatisfaction, physical self-concept, and body mass index (BMI) on the relationship between physical activity and self-concept in adolescents.Materials and Methods: A sample of 652 Spanish students between 12 and 17 years participated in a cross-sectional study. Physical self-concept and general self-concept were assessed with the Physical Self-Concept Questionnaire (CAF), body dissatisfaction with the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ), and physical activity was estimated with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-SF). BMI was utilized as a measurement of body composition. Structural equation modeling was used to assess the results.Results: The resulting models showed good fit indexes. Final model for all participants explained the 17% of the variance of body dissatisfaction, 57% of physical self-concept, and 60% of general self-concept. Physical activity had a positive and indirect effect on self-concept (β = 0.29, p < 0.01) and direct effects on body dissatisfaction (β = −0.26, p < 0.01) and physical self-concept (β = 0.20, p < 0.01). BMI had a direct effect on body dissatisfaction (β = 0.31, p < 0.01) and on physical self-concept (β = −0.10, p < 0.01) and an indirect effect on general self-concept (β = −0.24, p < 0.01). However, it was only associated with physical activity in males, playing a mediating role between physical activity and body dissatisfaction.Conclusion: Physical activity can help individuals to achieve a positive self-concept and promote psychological well-being in adolescents through the improvement of physical perceptions and body satisfaction. The importance of BMI, body dissatisfaction, and physical self-concept on the configuration of the self-concept is also emphasized. Educational policymakers and Physical Education teachers should implement strategies to promote physical activity in the schools and provide a Quality Physical Education programs to increase physical activity during adolescence.
Highlights
Mental health has become a public health issue among youth all over the world, having reached a 20% prevalence rate within this population (World Health Organization, Department of Mental Health, Substance Abuse, World Psychiatric Association, International Association for Child, Adolescent Psychiatry, and Allied Professions, 2005; Belfer, 2008)
Both the general physical self-concept (GPSC) and general self-concept (GSC) were high among the males and significantly greater than among the females (p < 0.001)
The females were more concerned about their bodies than the males (p > 0.001), reaching a mean score of 85.14, which exceeded the cut-off value for body image concern of Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) (>81)
Summary
Mental health has become a public health issue among youth all over the world, having reached a 20% prevalence rate within this population (World Health Organization, Department of Mental Health, Substance Abuse, World Psychiatric Association, International Association for Child, Adolescent Psychiatry, and Allied Professions, 2005; Belfer, 2008). In this line, physical activity (PA) is considered as one of the most important factors in the prevention and treatment of these kinds of issues (Ahn and Fedewa, 2011). Some studies found that the positive relationship between PA and self-concept relied on the kind of sport practiced (Slutzky and Simpkins, 2009; Fernández-Bustos et al, 2010), only occurred among girls (Noordstar et al, 2016) or only among boys (Altıntaş et al, 2014), or was conditional based on body mass index (BMI) (Reddon et al, 2017)
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