Abstract
Background: Body image in people with physical disability is important, but it has received little attention in the research literature. Objective: The aim of the study was to determine whether differences exist between adolescents with acquired mobility disability (AMD) and those without AMD regarding body image, and whether physical activity influences these differences. Methods: Fifty-eight adolescents, aged 16 to 18 years, participated in this study. Half the participants had some form of AMD while the other half were healthy. Body image was evaluated with the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ) before and after 6 weeks of playing darts. A two-way ANOVA was used to analyse the results. Results: At the end of the study, the healthy adolescents scored significantly higher than the AMD group on the subscales of fitness perception, orientation and overall health perception. No interaction was found between disability and exercise on any subscales of the MBSRQ. Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrate that people with AMD evaluate their health and fitness levels as being lower than healthy adolescents and that they are less concerned with fitness as compared with healthy adolescents. Six weeks of playing darts as a physical activity had no effect on improving the self-perceptions of the AMD group.
Highlights
IntroductionFeeling positive about one’s own body is important in establishing one’s identity and self esteem, and for this reason, body image may play a significant role in the lives of people with physical disabilities (Drench, 1994)
Body image in people with physical disability is important, but it has received little attention in the research literature
Individuals with acquired mobility disability (AMD) were functional verbal communicators and were cognitively able to respond to all questions
Summary
Feeling positive about one’s own body is important in establishing one’s identity and self esteem, and for this reason, body image may play a significant role in the lives of people with physical disabilities (Drench, 1994). Body dissatisfaction is defined as a person’s negative thoughts and feelings about his or her body (Cash, 1990), and it can result from body image distortion, a misperception of one’s appearance, disruption of mobility, body control, or the loss of a body part (Dolan, Birtchnell, & Lacey, 1987). Body image in people with physical disability is important, but it has received little attention in the research literature
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