Abstract
This study evaluated a positive body image program, Free To Be, for adolescent girls and boys. Participants were Canadian and primarily South Asian and were part of either the intervention (n = 76) or comparison groups (n = 43). Participants completed pretest and posttest questionnaires. The Group x Gender x Time interactions examining the study’s outcomes were not significant; however, post hoc analyses suggested promising results. Specifically, members of the intervention group experienced a significant increase in body image coping strategies and media literacy from Time 1 to Time 2, with boys benefiting the most. Members of both the intervention and comparison groups experienced a significant decrease in body dissatisfaction from Time 1 to Time 2. Boys in the intervention group experienced a greater decrease in body dissatisfaction, whereas both girls and boys in the comparison group reported a decrease in body dissatisfaction. Positive body image did not improve in either group. Limitations and implications are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
