CHARACTERISTICS OF BODY IMAGE IN TEENAGE GIRLS ENGAGED IN FIGURE SKATING

Abstract

The paper features the results of the study of the body image content characteristics in adolescent girls. The empirical study involved 12–14 year-old girls engaged in figure skating, and those not engaged in sports. The body image analysis was based on questionnaires and projective methods. It has been revealed that the content characteristics of the body image are interrelated with the parameters of self-relationship and self-esteem, regardless of whether the girl is engaged in sports or not. At the same time, athletes mostly appreciate the functional characteristics of the body, i.e. its activity and strength, whereas the girls in the control group assess their appearance. The gap between the real and the ideal body images appears to be higher in athletes. Comparison of the correlation matrices in the two groups shows that, in the group of athletes, the self-relationship parameters are correlated with the body evaluation, the evaluation of its strength, activity and functional characteristics. In the control group, the self-relationship parameters are related both to the functional characteristics of the body and to the appearance evaluation.

Keywords

• body image
• body image in adolescence
• teenage girls
• self-relationship
• self-evaluation
• functional characteristics of the body