Impact of Physical Activity-Based Interventions on Children and Adolescents’ Physical Self-Concept: A Meta-Analysis

ABSTRACT

Background: Observational studies associate physical activity (PA) with improved perceptions of children and adolescents’ physical self-concept (PSC) and global self-concept (GSC). However, only a few PA-based interventions exist for improving PSC and their results have been inconclusive. Objective: To determine the effect of specific PA-based programmes on the PSC (including its sub-dimensions) and GSC of children and adolescents, and to assess possible moderators. Methods: The databases Web of Science, Scopus, SportDiscus, PubMed, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library were reviewed in February 2020. Only studies with pre-post measurements and control groups were included. The impact of PA-based interventions was explored through different meta-analyses and moderator analyses. Results: Altogether, 20 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Positive and significant effects of PA were determined on self-perceived physical appearance (g = 0.13; 95% CI = 0.03, 0.23), self-perceived sport competence (g = 0.30; 95% CI = 0.09, 0.51), self-perceived physical fitness (g = 0.19; 95% CI = 0.05, 0.32), PSC (g = 0.31; 95% CI = 0.10, 0.52), and GSC (g = 0.17; 95% CI = 0.01, 0.33). The existence of additional interventions in PA-based programmes (e.g., interventions focused on psychological factors or healthy habits) moderated the influence of PA on self-perceived sport competence and physical fitness. Moreover, environment and time were distinguished as moderators for self-perceived physical appearance and sport competence. Further, intervention type, gender, and frequency of intervention moderated the effects of PA on PSC. Conclusions: PA-based interventions, especially in school, seem to be beneficial for the development of positive physical self-perceptions.

KEYWORDS:

• Adolescence
• childhood
• meta-analysis
• physical self-concept

Funding

The researchers gratefully acknowledge the support of the UCLM and the ERDF in this work through their plan for funding research activities for research groups [Resolución de 19/02/2020, de la Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, por la que se establecen las bases reguladoras y la convocatoria para la financiación de actividades de investigación dirigidas a grupos en el marco del Plan Propio de Investigación, cofinanciadas por el Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER), mediante la presentación de expresiones de interés.]

The researcher Álvaro Infantes-Paniagua is supported by a grant from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport (FPU16/00082).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

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