The relationship between body mass and self concept among adolescent female university students

Abstract

The purpose of the research study is to investigate the relationship between body mass and self-concept among adolescent female university students. First year female students from three different Schools and Faculties at the University of Limpopo, Turfloop Campus participated in the study. They were 75 in number. The study has both a quantitative and qualitative aspects. The qualitative was used to complement the quantitative aspect. The Rosenberg Self-esteem Measure was used to measure self-esteem. For the qualitative aspect, a topic guide was used for the focus group discussion prepared and used for the focus group discussion. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and the Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation were used to analyse the quantitative data. Results show that there is a relationship between body mass and self-concept and that overweight participants tend to have a low self-esteem. This low self-esteem was perceived to be aggravated by a number of factors like the attitude of the media and the society. Participants who are overweight also indicated that they are limited in certain areas of their lives (e.g., sports) as a result of their body mass. They expressed mixed feelings and frustration when it comes to such areas of like. Support groups, life-skills programmes and psychotherapy should be made available and attainable for overweight female adolescents.