Effectiveness of a Life-Skills Based Intervention during Physical Education on Body Image and Goal Setting Skills in Adolescent Girls

Background: Negative body image in female adolescents is a sign of the times, but it is also a current global issue due to its implications for the onset of health-compromising behaviours and the increasing power of appearance-based social media. The aim of this study is to investigate the protective role of a life-skills based intervention during PE classes in adolescent girls against increasing body dissatisfaction resulting from body composition changes and to assess the impact of intervention on the skill of setting goals.

Method: The study involved 81 female students aged 12–14 years and used a pre-test/post-test control group design. Students participating in a 15-lesson programme (experimental group) were compared to those who had regular PE lessons (control group). Students completed self-reported measures of the analysed life skills. Anthropometric and body composition measurements were also taken.

Results: Despite more rapid biological changes during the programme (significantly higher waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio, BMI at post-test compared to the control group, not observed at baseline) the experimental group stayed at the same level of body dissatisfaction as at baseline (“mild concern”). In goal setting, lack of participation in the programme produced a negative change in the performance-avoid goal orientation (PAGO) dimension (p=0.005) in the control group.

Conclusions: The study suggests that a preventive intervention targeting life skills can be successfully implemented in PE settings and have a probable mitigating effect on body image dissatisfaction, even in situations when subjects experience intensive biological changes.