Self-evaluation of body image in sport active and sport inactive adolescent girls

Abstract

Background: Body image is the mental representation one creates about one’s self and is in relation how others see him/her. In the scientific literature, there is a lack of knowledge concerning differences in self-evaluation of body image in sport active and sport inactive adolescent girls. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate satisfaction or dissatisfaction in an individual attitudinal disposition toward the physical self-body image perception with regards to the level of physical activity (sport active and sport inactive) of adolescent girls in two dispositional dimensions: evaluation and orientation for three somatic domains of appearance, fitness and health/illness. This study aimed to investigate how body image was affected with regard to female adolescents’ extracurricular level of physical activity. Methods: In the study 105 sport active adolescent girls (age 16.21 ± 1.54 years) and 49 sport inactive adolescent girls (age 16.99 ± .76 years) participated. We used the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ). For comparison of satisfaction with the perceptions of their own body image in sport active and sport inactive girls MANOVA and Mann-Whitney U test were used. Results: Our results show that the factor group (sport active or sport inactive adolescent girls) does not significantly affect “body image” represented with the answers to the items of MBSRQ (λ = .898, F(10, 143) = 1.63, p = .103, η2 = .102). Conclusion: This study shows that the level of physical activity does not significantly influence body image in the selected sample of sport active and sport inactive female adolescents.