Physical Self - Perception of Secondary School Girls in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Abstract

This study was conducted for the purpose of investigating the physical self – perception profile and the self-esteem of secondary school girls in Bahrain. The sample consisted of 153 students selected from the government secondary schools in Bahrain. Physical self-perception was measured by the Physical Self-Perception Profile (PSPP) developed by Fox (1987). PSPP includes the following subscales: sport competence, strength, physical conditioning, attractiveness of body, and general self-worth. Self-esteem was measured by the Adult Form of Self-esteem Inventory developed by Coopersmith (1991). Physical characteristics such as weight and height were established, in which Body Mass Index (BMI) (weight/height2) was calculated. BMI allowed a sample to be categorized into four categories: underweight, normal, overweight, and obese. BMI results revealed that the majority of the subjects (90.2%) were considered to be within normal weight category. The subjects’ Physical Self-Perception results showed that the girls responded to the physical attractiveness subscale with the least grades, while they graded the physical condition subscale as the highest. The sample’s self-esteem showed to be somewhat low (55.22 ± 16.53). The subjects were further divided into two groups according to their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their body weight (satisfied and not satisfied). 54.9% of them stated that they were not satisfied with their weights and they were trying to lose weight by dieting and/or engaging in physical activities. Independent sample test showed that the two groups differ significantly (P < 0.05) in the following PSPP subscales: physical attractiveness, physical condition, and physical self - worth. It was concluded that the girls at this age group are at risk of developing one of the eating disorder diseases. They showed to be dissatisfied with their body weight while their BMI results showed that their weight was normal. The research recommended the importance of educating this age group of females about valuing their “self”, and encouraging them to take part in physical activities to enhance their physical, social and psychological well-being.