Imagine your body even without seeing it: the effect of physical activity upon the physical self-concept in people with and without blindness

Abstract

The physical self-concept (PSC) refers to the knowledge, feelings, memories, and experiences a person refers to his/her body and it is one of the crucial constructs aimed at describing a person’s subjective perception of his/her own fitness, health, appearance, and physical activity (PA). This study had a threefold purpose: (1) to assess the measurement invariance of the PSC across people with and without blindness, (2) to analyze the specific dimensions of the PSC related to global physical self and self-esteem, and (3) to evaluate the relationship between PA and PSC dimensions in participants with and without blindness. Eighty-five people with blindness and 121 persons without blindness voluntarily participated in the study. Participants with blindness were assessed through a structured interview, whereas sighted participants completed a paper-and-pencil questionnaire. Structural equation modeling and MANOVA analyses were performed. Measurement invariance of the instrument assessing PSC across people with and without blindness was confirmed. For participants with blindness, global physical self was significantly associated with PA, appearance, and strength, whereas global self-esteem was related to global physical self and appearance. With respect to sighted participants, global physical self was related with appearance, body fat, sport competence, and strength, while global self-esteem was associated with global physical self, appearance, coordination, and health. Finally, participants who practiced PA 2 h/week or more reported higher scores on the PA dimension of PSC, as well as on coordination, and sport competence dimensions if compared with participants engaged in PA for less than 2 h/week both in participants with and without blindness. Results proved the PSDQ-S to be a reliable measure to investigate differences among people with and without blindness, and this allowed us to rely on the differences emerged between the two groups. As expected, people with blindness showed a more restricted number of specific PSC dimensions associated with physical self and self-esteem, if compared with sighted persons; PA was positively associated with the PSC dimensions both in participants with and without blindness.