Abstract
BackgroundPhysical, neurological and psychological changes are often experienced differently by male and female adolescents. Positive self-esteem, emotional well-being, school achievements, and family connectedness are considered as protective factors against health-compromising behaviors. This study examines the gender differences in respect to the effect of a school-based interactive wellness program – “In Favor of Myself” – on self-image, body image, eating attitudes and behaviors of young adolescents.MethodsTwo hundred and ten adolescents (mean age 13.5) participated in the intervention group, 55% were girls and 45% boys. Program consisted of eight 90-minutes structured sessions integrated into a regular school coping skills curriculum. The program focused on self-esteem, self-image, body image, media literacy and cognitive dissonance. The overall impact of the program and the study protocol were previously published.ResultsOverall, there are gender related differences in respect to body image and self-image in young adolescents in response to “In Favor of Myself”. Compared to boys, girls reported at baseline higher self-esteem, being more contingent by appearance, and their self-image was more influenced by popularity, appearance, interpersonal communication and admired people. Furthermore girls presented greater gap between current body figure and perceived ideal figure. Not only were girls more dissatisfied with their body, but they were more active in attempts to become and/or remain “thin”. At program termination, gender × time effect was detected in reduction of self-worth contingent by others, change in importance given to achievements at schools, parents' perceptions, as well as the impact of comparisons to friends and family members on self-image.ConclusionsGirls exhibited more gains than boys from ‘In Favor of Myself’ which raise the questions about how effective would be the program when delivered in mixed gender groups vs. mono-gender groups.
Highlights
School-based intervention is a viable mechanism for widespread intervention which has the particular advantage of near universal enrollment of children and adolescents
Participant characteristics For the purpose of discussing gender differences and since the intervention vs. control conditions differences were presented in previous manuscript, we will present and discuss hereby the gender differences among the intervention group participants only
The differences between boys and girls at baseline and at program conclusion in respect to awareness to changes associated with getting older, Rosenberg self-esteem, Others’ approval and appearance contingencies of self-worth, knowledge about advertising strategies as well as impact of media on pressure to change oneself and current vs. ideal body image will be described
Summary
School-based intervention is a viable mechanism for widespread intervention which has the particular advantage of near universal enrollment of children and adolescents. School-based programs can facilitate change in the environment as well as encourage adopting a healthy lifestyle [1]. Paxton [2] reported that about half the school-based curricula have been shown to have positive impact on some aspects of body image. A larger positive effect in highrisk participants, over the age of 15 years, and female-only participation groups [3,4]. Neurological and psychological changes are often experienced differently by male and female adolescents. Positive self-esteem, emotional well-being, school achievements, and family connectedness are considered as protective factors against health-compromising behaviors. This study examines the gender differences in respect to the effect of a school-based interactive wellness program – ‘‘In Favor of Myself’’ – on self-image, body image, eating attitudes and behaviors of young adolescents
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