Non-Cooperation within a School-Based Wellness Program during the COVID-19 Pandemic—A Qualitative Research

This paper presents a qualitative analysis of COVID-19′s impact on the development, delivery, and uptake of “Favoring Myself”, a school-based interactive wellness program conducted via Zoom during 2020–2021. “Favoring Myself” targets resilience, self-esteem, body-esteem, self-care behaviors, and media literacy among 5th-grade preadolescents. Data were obtained from meetings, 23 semi-structured interviews with parents, teachers, and principals, and other modes of correspondence. All data were transcribed and thematically analyzed. The analysis highlighted the barriers faced when delivering external programs during COVID-19. Parents’ difficulties in cooperating with the program, distrustful relationships between parents and the education system, as well as teachers’ overload and stress, were identified as barriers to the external program’s sustainability. These challenges are discussed in light of previous studies of school-based programs, the psychological and social contexts of an ongoing crisis and the impact of neoliberalism on education. This study concludes that school-based prevention programs and accompanying research should be more flexible and focus on understanding and relating to parents’ and schools’ fears, uncertainties, and resistance. It is the hope of the authors that knowledge created through this exploration will be helpful in future coping vis-à-vis prevention program teams and recipients in times of unpredictable, unmanageable, and overpowering crises

Gender related differences in response to "in favor of myself" wellness program to enhance positive self & body image among adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Physical, neurological and psychological changes are often experienced differently by male and female adolescents. Positive self-esteem, emotional well-being, school achievements, and family connectedness are considered as protective factors against health-compromising behaviors. This study examines the gender differences in respect to the effect of a school-based interactive wellness program--"In Favor of Myself"--on self-image, body image, eating attitudes and behaviors of young adolescents. METHODS: Two hundred and ten adolescents (mean age 13.5) participated in the intervention group, 55% were girls and 45% boys. Program consisted of eight 90-minutes structured sessions integrated into a regular school coping skills curriculum. The program focused on self-esteem, self-image, body image, media literacy and cognitive dissonance. The overall impact of the program and the study protocol were previously published. RESULTS: Overall, there are gender related differences in respect to body image and self-image in young adolescents in response to "In Favor of Myself". Compared to boys, girls reported at baseline higher self-esteem, being more contingent by appearance, and their self-image was more influenced by popularity, appearance, interpersonal communication and admired people. Furthermore girls presented greater gap between current body figure and perceived ideal figure. Not only were girls more dissatisfied with their body, but they were more active in attempts to become and/or remain "thin". At program termination, gender × time effect was detected in reduction of self-worth contingent by others, change in importance given to achievements at schools, parents' perceptions, as well as the impact of comparisons to friends and family members on self-image. CONCLUSIONS: Girls exhibited more gains than boys from 'In Favor of Myself' which raise the questions about how effective would be the program when delivered in mixed gender groups vs. mono-gender groups

Girls-only vs. mixed-gender groups in the delivery of a universal wellness programme among adolescents: A cluster-randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND:Investigation of the optimal setting for body image prevention programmes is important to maximize the outcomes of such programmes. OBJECTIVES:We examined the preferred setting for a school-based wellness programme called "In Favour of Myself". METHODS:A total of 259 girls (mean 13.82±0.64 years) were divided into a girls-only intervention group, a mixed-gender intervention and a waiting list control group. The participants completed self-report questionnaires at baseline, post-intervention (2 months) and at follow-up (3 months) examining changes in self-esteem, media literacy, body image and risk factors for eating disorders. The intervention group participants also completed a satisfaction questionnaire. RESULTS:Both intervention groups demonstrated statistically significant improvements in identifying advertising strategies (p<0.01) compared with the controls, with the girls-only arm (p<0.001) showing better results. Compared with the girls-only arm and the control group, the mixed-gender group demonstrated statistically significantly greater improvements in the internalization of pressure for thinness (p<0.004), the body-esteem appearance subscale (p<0.025) and body-esteem body-weight subscale (p<0.012) as well as reductions in their perceived current body silhouettes and in the gap between their current and ideal body image (p<0.003). Body dissatisfaction was increased following the programme, although not in a statistically significant manner, with the worst negative effect observed in the girls-only arm. All other differences among the study arms did not show statistically significant differences. Mediation models revealed that body-esteem was directly mediated by group, with statistically significant mediation only in the mixed group. Current body image was mediated indirectly by group through media literacy (i.e., recognizing advertisement strategies and internalization of pressure for thinness), with statistical significance only in the mixed-gender arm compared with the girls-only arm. Higher programme satisfaction was reported in the mixed-gender group (91%) vs. the girls-only groups (79%). CONCLUSIONS:These outcomes provide preliminary evidence indicating the superiority of a mixed-gender setting compared with a girls-only setting for delivering prevention programmes to 13- to 14-year-old adolescents to enhance their media literacy, positive self-esteem and body image. TRIAL REGISTRATION:NCT02653586

Health perceptions, self and body image, physical activity and nutrition among undergraduate students in Israel.

PURPOSE: This study examines health perceptions, self and body image, physical exercise and nutrition among undergraduate students. METHODS: A structured, self-reported questionnaire was administered to more than 1500 students at a large academic institute in Israel. The study population was heterogenic in both gender and fields of academic study. RESULTS: High correlations between health perceptions, appropriate nutrition, and positive self and body image were found. The relationships between these variables differed between the subpopulation in the sample and the different genders. Engagement in physical exercise contributed to positive body image and positive health perceptions more than engagement in healthy nutrition. Nutrition students reported higher frequencies of positive health perceptions, positive self and body image and higher engagement in physical exercise in comparison to all other students in the sample. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests, as have many before, that successful health promotion policy should reflect a collectivist rather than an individualist ethos by providing health prerequisites through a public policy of health-promotion, where the academic settings support a healthy lifestyle policy, by increasing availability of a healthy, nutritious and varied menu in the cafeterias, and offering students various activities that enhance healthy eating and exercise. IMPLICATIONS AND CONTRIBUTION: This study examined health perceptions, self-image, physical exercise and nutrition among undergraduate students and found high correlations between these topics. Nutrition students reported higher frequencies of positive health perceptions, and positive self and body image and engaged more in physical exercise when compared with all other students in the sample

From Self-Doubt to Pride: Understanding the Empowering Effects of Delivering School-Based Wellness Programmes for Emerging Adult Facilitators&mdash;A Qualitative Study

Ample literature exists on the impact of prevention programmes on their target audience, while much less is known about how delivering such programmes influences their facilitators. Even less literature exists on the emotional and social processes that form this potential impact on facilitators. The current study analysed qualitative in-depth, non-structured interviews, as well as written essays provided by 33 student-facilitators who delivered the &ldquo;Favoring Myself&rdquo; programme in Israel during 2019&ndash;2021. This school-based wellness programme comprised 10 weekly, 90 min sessions on self-care behaviours, media literacy, self-esteem, and positive body image, which are well-known protective factors against risky behaviours. A thematic analysis was applied to explore the main themes in the collected data. An interesting affective transformation from self-doubt to pride in themselves emerged as a shared experience of these young facilitators. Facilitators related their ability to facilitate the programme, as well as to undergo an individual maturation and empowerment experience, to certain components of the programme itself, such as the preparatory course, individual supervision, and the peer-group experience. This shift from doubt to pride is discussed using two frameworks&mdash;a theoretical discourse of emerging adulthood as a developmental stage, and the self-determination theory

Identification of media strategies by girls and boys (Means ± SD).

<p>Identification of media strategies by girls and boys (Means ± SD).</p

Demographic description of studied population (% or mean±SD).

<p>Demographic description of studied population (% or mean±SD).</p

Contingencies of self-worth by others and by appearance (Means ± SD).

<p>Contingencies of self-worth by others and by appearance (Means ± SD).</p