At the beginning of TY, myself, Aisling Donelan and Aoife Mahony worked on a project to be entered into the BT Young Scientist. Below is our proposal form which outlines the details to our project:
Title:
The purpose of this study was to examine patterns of change, and associations of change, in self-esteem (SE), physical self-perceptions (PSP), and physical activity in a sample of 200 Irish adolescent girls over two measurements points and 4 months.
Background:
We used mixed methods:qualitative and quantitative. We carried out a post test, a three month intervention and a post-test. The Physical Self-Perceptions Profile(PSPP) was used to measure SE and PSP, and the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents (PAQ-A) was used to assess physical activity at pre test and post test. We used the Physical Self-Perceptions Profile (Fox and Corbin 1989).It had five 6 item scales that measured the girls perceptions of physical self-worth (PSW), sport competence (Sport), body attractiveness (Body), physical conditioning and exercise, and physical strength. We carried out a google scholar search and we read and summarised articles.We had access to the UL e-library and we searched on SportDiscus for the latest articles in journals on self-esteem and self-perception of adolescent girls. We used a tool from Fox and Corbin (1989) as our pre and post measurement tool as it was proven as reliable and valid in their research.We read Croker(2006) in the Applied Journal of Sport Psychology on the relationship between self concept and physical activity in adolescent girls. We read a summary on the topic in the journal of sport and exercise psychology 2007. We applied to UL for access to their SportDiscus database. We also searched on google scholar. We learned how to read research articles and how to search properly. Our teacher helped us to learn new terminology so that we could understand the articles. We also emailed UL sports science lecturers for advice. We gathered 200 adolescent female volunteers from PE classes in our school. We got informed consent from them for participating in our project. We gave them a letter for their parents to sign too. We have carried out a pre test using a prove reliable and valid tool called PSPP (Fox and Corbin 1989). We carried out an intervention that we designed based on what we read and our own ideas about improving self concept and physical activity. We carried out a post test using the same tool with the same participants. Participants were 200 female adolescents involved in our four month longitudinal study on physical self-perceptions and physical activity levels. 705 grade-9 female students (14–15 years old) participated, representing a range of socioeconomic backgrounds from Ireland. Of the beginning sample, 187 girls provided data for the four months.There were injuries, absentees and some students chose not to participate anymore. We collected data at pre and post test. We stored it in the school laptop. We learned how to use excel to store and analyse the data.We are still analysing some data. We gathered a random sample of adolescents females from the PE classes in our school. We asked them to sign up with voluntary, informed consent. The sample of students came from females in the PE classes in our school. The sample size is 200 (n=200) female adolescents. The following apparatus and facilities are available to us: 1. Science and PE Teachers 2. Gym 3. A library - in school and in our town 4. Computer rooms 5. The internet 6. Dublin City University and Dr Catherine Woods, Lecturer in Physical Activity. 7. SportDiscus, 8. UL library e-resources, 9. SPSS statistical software
Observations:
In Ireland,more than 80% of adolescent girls are physically inactive. Inactivity may be reinforced by poor self concept and poor self esteem. We would like to improve this by designing an intervention to specifically target self esteem and self concept through physical education, and hence, improve physical activity levels in adolescent girls.
Hypothesis:
To investigate patterns of change, and associations of change, in self-esteem (SE), physical self-perceptions (PSP), and physical activity in a sample of 200 Irish adolescent girls over two measurements points and 4 months.
Method:
1. We used mixed methods:qualitative and quantitative.
2. We carried out a post test, a three month intervention and a post-test.
3. The Physical Self-Perceptions Profile (PSPP) was used to measure SE and PSP, and the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents (PAQ-A) was used to assess physical activity at pre test and post test (Fox and Corbin 1989).
4. It had five 6 item scales that measured the girls perceptions of physical self-worth(PSW), sport competence (Sport), body attractiveness (Body), physical conditioning and exercise, and physical strength.
5. We designed an intervention to target the items on the scale.
6. We carried out a post test using the same tools.
7. We gathered our data on excel
8. Analysed our data on excel and SPSS.
Results:
The pre-test provided the baseline scores. We compared the baseline scores to the final scores at the post-test. All items improved, apart from the body attractiveness item. We will redesign our intervention and carry out phase two next. We will focus on improving this item as we did not give it enough attention in the first design of our intervention.The older the participant, the lower their baseline items scored.Adolescent females in our study became more physically active as their physical conditioning and strength improved. Every individual had a different baseline starting point and everyone changed at different rates from pre-test to post-test. From our
point and everyone changed at different rates from pre-test to post-test. From our results, we cannot predict cause. The results of our study demonstrate how changes in general self-concept and self-esteem, perceptions of the adolescent girl on herself are more specific than we thought depending on the individual. Self concept, self esteem and physical activity are related and changed from pre-test to intervention to post-test. We quote an article we read by Kowalski (2003) who argued 'the effect of reciprocal models rather than pure bottom-up or top-down models in the causal flow, most probably yield the best insight into the complex puzzle of systematic development in these concepts' in adolescent girls'.
References:
1. World Health Organization. Global recommendations on physical activity for health. Geneva,Switzerland: WHO Press; 2010.
2. Marmont M. Social determinants of health inequalities. The Lancet. 2005;365(9464):1099-1104. 4. Morris JN. Exercise in the prevention of coronary heart disease: Today’s best buy in public health. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1994;26(7):807-14
3. The Physical Self in Motion: Within-Person Change and Associations of Change in Self-Esteem, Physical Self-Concept, and Physical Activity in Adolescent Girls Magnus Lindwall,1 Hulya Asci,2 and Peter Crocker3 1University of Gothenburg; 2Marmara University; 3University of British Columbia (2014)
4. Kowalski et al., 2003.
Title:
The purpose of this study was to examine patterns of change, and associations of change, in self-esteem (SE), physical self-perceptions (PSP), and physical activity in a sample of 200 Irish adolescent girls over two measurements points and 4 months.
Background:
We used mixed methods:qualitative and quantitative. We carried out a post test, a three month intervention and a post-test. The Physical Self-Perceptions Profile(PSPP) was used to measure SE and PSP, and the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents (PAQ-A) was used to assess physical activity at pre test and post test. We used the Physical Self-Perceptions Profile (Fox and Corbin 1989).It had five 6 item scales that measured the girls perceptions of physical self-worth (PSW), sport competence (Sport), body attractiveness (Body), physical conditioning and exercise, and physical strength. We carried out a google scholar search and we read and summarised articles.We had access to the UL e-library and we searched on SportDiscus for the latest articles in journals on self-esteem and self-perception of adolescent girls. We used a tool from Fox and Corbin (1989) as our pre and post measurement tool as it was proven as reliable and valid in their research.We read Croker(2006) in the Applied Journal of Sport Psychology on the relationship between self concept and physical activity in adolescent girls. We read a summary on the topic in the journal of sport and exercise psychology 2007. We applied to UL for access to their SportDiscus database. We also searched on google scholar. We learned how to read research articles and how to search properly. Our teacher helped us to learn new terminology so that we could understand the articles. We also emailed UL sports science lecturers for advice. We gathered 200 adolescent female volunteers from PE classes in our school. We got informed consent from them for participating in our project. We gave them a letter for their parents to sign too. We have carried out a pre test using a prove reliable and valid tool called PSPP (Fox and Corbin 1989). We carried out an intervention that we designed based on what we read and our own ideas about improving self concept and physical activity. We carried out a post test using the same tool with the same participants. Participants were 200 female adolescents involved in our four month longitudinal study on physical self-perceptions and physical activity levels. 705 grade-9 female students (14–15 years old) participated, representing a range of socioeconomic backgrounds from Ireland. Of the beginning sample, 187 girls provided data for the four months.There were injuries, absentees and some students chose not to participate anymore. We collected data at pre and post test. We stored it in the school laptop. We learned how to use excel to store and analyse the data.We are still analysing some data. We gathered a random sample of adolescents females from the PE classes in our school. We asked them to sign up with voluntary, informed consent. The sample of students came from females in the PE classes in our school. The sample size is 200 (n=200) female adolescents. The following apparatus and facilities are available to us: 1. Science and PE Teachers 2. Gym 3. A library - in school and in our town 4. Computer rooms 5. The internet 6. Dublin City University and Dr Catherine Woods, Lecturer in Physical Activity. 7. SportDiscus, 8. UL library e-resources, 9. SPSS statistical software
Observations:
In Ireland,more than 80% of adolescent girls are physically inactive. Inactivity may be reinforced by poor self concept and poor self esteem. We would like to improve this by designing an intervention to specifically target self esteem and self concept through physical education, and hence, improve physical activity levels in adolescent girls.
Hypothesis:
To investigate patterns of change, and associations of change, in self-esteem (SE), physical self-perceptions (PSP), and physical activity in a sample of 200 Irish adolescent girls over two measurements points and 4 months.
Method:
1. We used mixed methods:qualitative and quantitative.
2. We carried out a post test, a three month intervention and a post-test.
3. The Physical Self-Perceptions Profile (PSPP) was used to measure SE and PSP, and the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents (PAQ-A) was used to assess physical activity at pre test and post test (Fox and Corbin 1989).
4. It had five 6 item scales that measured the girls perceptions of physical self-worth(PSW), sport competence (Sport), body attractiveness (Body), physical conditioning and exercise, and physical strength.
5. We designed an intervention to target the items on the scale.
6. We carried out a post test using the same tools.
7. We gathered our data on excel
8. Analysed our data on excel and SPSS.
Results:
The pre-test provided the baseline scores. We compared the baseline scores to the final scores at the post-test. All items improved, apart from the body attractiveness item. We will redesign our intervention and carry out phase two next. We will focus on improving this item as we did not give it enough attention in the first design of our intervention.The older the participant, the lower their baseline items scored.Adolescent females in our study became more physically active as their physical conditioning and strength improved. Every individual had a different baseline starting point and everyone changed at different rates from pre-test to post-test. From our
point and everyone changed at different rates from pre-test to post-test. From our results, we cannot predict cause. The results of our study demonstrate how changes in general self-concept and self-esteem, perceptions of the adolescent girl on herself are more specific than we thought depending on the individual. Self concept, self esteem and physical activity are related and changed from pre-test to intervention to post-test. We quote an article we read by Kowalski (2003) who argued 'the effect of reciprocal models rather than pure bottom-up or top-down models in the causal flow, most probably yield the best insight into the complex puzzle of systematic development in these concepts' in adolescent girls'.
References:
1. World Health Organization. Global recommendations on physical activity for health. Geneva,Switzerland: WHO Press; 2010.
2. Marmont M. Social determinants of health inequalities. The Lancet. 2005;365(9464):1099-1104. 4. Morris JN. Exercise in the prevention of coronary heart disease: Today’s best buy in public health. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1994;26(7):807-14
3. The Physical Self in Motion: Within-Person Change and Associations of Change in Self-Esteem, Physical Self-Concept, and Physical Activity in Adolescent Girls Magnus Lindwall,1 Hulya Asci,2 and Peter Crocker3 1University of Gothenburg; 2Marmara University; 3University of British Columbia (2014)
4. Kowalski et al., 2003.