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Children
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Children's Body Image, Physical Activity and Health
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Children's Body Image, Physical Activity and Health

A special issue of Children (ISSN 2227-9067). This special issue belongs to the section "Global and Public Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 January 2022) | Viewed by 18187

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Juan Gregorio Fernández-Bustos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Deparment of Physical Education, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 02071 Albacete, Spain
Interests: body image; physical appearance; children’s mental health; children’s social health; physical activity and health; physical self-concept

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Body image (BI) is a multifaceted concept that refers to individuals’ perceptions and attitudes about their own body. BI is especially relevant in children and adolescents due to the importance of everything related to the body at these ages. BI has traditionally been associated with various indicators of physical, mental, and social health. Regarding mental health, a negative BI is associated with depression and low self-esteem. On the one hand, body dissatisfaction has prospectively been linked to unhealthy behaviors such as poor nutrition, low levels of physical activity, weight control behaviors, and even eating disorders among children and adolescents. Furthermore, body dissatisfaction has also been associated with peer relationship problems, avoidance behaviors, and social isolation. On the other hand, having a positive BI entails protective effects such as a higher self-esteem, a greater psychological well-being, an engagement in self-care behaviors and physical activity, and better social health.

Therefore, there is a clear need to deepen our understanding of BI and its relationship with different health fields, as well as to work on an early prevention of BI-related issues during childhood, since this is a stage in which a positive approach to BI must prevail. Furthermore, researchers suggest that programs aimed at promoting healthy BI are more likely to be effective when carried out in preadolescence or even at younger ages, since individuals’ attitudes and behaviors have not been established yet. Similarly, an issue of special interest is how physical activity influences BI. Much of the literature has focused on testing how physical activity is associated with a more positive BI, although this has not been deeply researched in children.

The Special Issue on “Children’s Body Image, Physical Activity and Health” aims to gather all research that studies BI in children, especially from a positive approach, and its associations with any of the health fields (i.e., physical, mental or social). It also intends to deeply examine the role of physical activity on building a positive BI. Original quantitative or qualitative research, systematic reviews, as well as case reports that could extend the knowledge in this field are welcome.

Prof. Juan Gregorio Fernández-Bustos
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Body image
  • Body appearance
  • Body self-concept
  • Children
  • Health
  • Mental health
  • Social health
  • Physical activity

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 1053 KiB  
Article
Emotion Dysregulation as a Mediator of the Relationship between Anxiety, Compulsive Exercise and Eating Disorder Symptoms in Adolescents
by Cristina Cuesta-Zamora, Irene González-Martí, Luis Miguel García-López, Laura Ros, Carolyn R. Plateau and Jorge Javier Ricarte
Children 2021, 8(12), 1088; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/children8121088 - 25 Nov 2021
Viewed by 2473
Abstract
Anxiety has been suggested to be a key contributing factor for compulsive exercise, however, existing literature has demonstrated contradictory relationships between anxiety and compulsive exercise among adolescents. According to the Emotional Cascade Model (ECM), factors such as rumination and emotional suppression may mediate [...] Read more.
Anxiety has been suggested to be a key contributing factor for compulsive exercise, however, existing literature has demonstrated contradictory relationships between anxiety and compulsive exercise among adolescents. According to the Emotional Cascade Model (ECM), factors such as rumination and emotional suppression may mediate the association between affect and exercise. The current study therefore aimed to investigate whether rumination and emotional suppression mediate the relationship between anxiety and compulsive exercise in predicting ED symptoms in adolescents. Questionnaires assessing compulsive exercise, anxiety, depressive rumination, emotional suppression, and ED symptoms were completed by 212 adolescent males (Mage = 13.39, SD = 1.22) and 189 adolescent females (Mage = 13.64, SD = 1.29). The structural equation model showed indirect effects between anxiety and compulsive exercise through rumination and emotional suppression in males but not in females. Moreover, anxiety had an indirect effect on eating disorder symptoms through rumination, emotional suppression and compulsive exercise in both males and females. In line with ECM, the results suggest that rumination and emotional suppression may have a key role in the association between anxiety, compulsive exercise and eating disorder symptoms in adolescents. These findings suggest that compulsive exercise may be used as a dysfunctional coping mechanism to escape from a negative emotional cascade generated by the interaction of anxiety, rumination and emotional suppression. Future longitudinal studies to test the role of compulsive exercise as a dysfunctional behaviour in the ECM are needed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Children's Body Image, Physical Activity and Health)
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Review

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17 pages, 507 KiB  
Review
Questionnaires Assessing Adolescents’ Self-Concept, Self-Perception, Physical Activity and Lifestyle: A Systematic Review
by Natacha Palenzuela-Luis, Gonzalo Duarte-Clíments, Juan Gómez-Salgado, José Ángel Rodríguez-Gómez and María Begoña Sánchez-Gómez
Children 2022, 9(1), 91; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/children9010091 - 10 Jan 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 6791
Abstract
Introduction: Adolescence is considered a fundamental time to promote change. During this time, young people consolidate their social and individual identity. By influencing positive changes, chronic diseases can be avoided, delayed or modified in the future. The use of valid and reliable questionnaires [...] Read more.
Introduction: Adolescence is considered a fundamental time to promote change. During this time, young people consolidate their social and individual identity. By influencing positive changes, chronic diseases can be avoided, delayed or modified in the future. The use of valid and reliable questionnaires is an optimal resource for gathering information and thus useful for this study. Objectives: The objectives of the study were to: (1). identify the questionnaires that assess self-esteem/self-concept, self-perception, physical exercise and lifestyle of adolescents; (2). analyse the psychometric measures of the questionnaires used to assess the self-esteem/self-concept, self-perception, physical exercise and lifestyle of adolescents; and (3). determine which questionnaires are the most reliable and valid for assessing the self-esteem/self-concept, self-perception, physical exercise and lifestyle of adolescents. Method: A bibliographic search was carried out in the following databases: Virtual Health Library, Cochrane, Medline, Cuiden, Scielo, Dialnet, PubMed and Ministry of Health, Consumption and Social Welfare following the PICO method. The recommendations of the PRISMA statement were followed. Results: A total of 71 scientific articles were collected. Within the self-perception/self-concept questionnaires, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale stands out for being an optimal and widely used resource in adolescents. Regarding the questionnaires that evaluate self-perception, the General Health Questionnaire is the most used; it is used in numerous national health surveys in different countries. The Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents ranks first with respect to the rest of the tools. It is a widely used resource internationally and provides enough information on the physical activity carried out by the subject in a given week. Although there are several questionnaires that measure lifestyle, the Health Behavior in School-aged Children instrument was selected. This instrument is at the European level and involves the collaboration of 48 countries and allows us to compare the lifestyle habits of adolescents from different countries. Discussion: The questionnaire that stands out in the assessment of self-esteem/self-concept is the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The General Health Questionnaire has been selected as the best tool for assessing self-perception. To measure physical exercise, the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents is identified as the ideal instrument because it is widely used and can be completed quickly. Regarding lifestyle, the Health Behavior in School aged Children is shown to be an effective instrument in assessing lifestyle. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Children's Body Image, Physical Activity and Health)
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15 pages, 311 KiB  
Review
Skin Disease in Children: Effects on Quality of Life, Stigmatization, Bullying, and Suicide Risk in Pediatric Acne, Atopic Dermatitis, and Psoriasis Patients
by Katherine A. Kelly, Esther A. Balogh, Sebastian G. Kaplan and Steven R. Feldman
Children 2021, 8(11), 1057; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/children8111057 - 16 Nov 2021
Cited by 39 | Viewed by 7599
Abstract
Acne, atopic dermatitis (AD), and psoriasis are all chronic dermatologic conditions that greatly impact the lives of pediatric patients and their caregivers. The visible nature of these diseases negatively affects the self-image of children early in life as well as their relationships with [...] Read more.
Acne, atopic dermatitis (AD), and psoriasis are all chronic dermatologic conditions that greatly impact the lives of pediatric patients and their caregivers. The visible nature of these diseases negatively affects the self-image of children early in life as well as their relationships with their families and peers. Physicians recognize the importance of addressing both the physical and mental symptoms of their patients but are currently not equipped with clear guidelines to manage long-term psychosocial comorbidities in pediatric dermatologic patients. A PubMed and Google Scholar search of key words was conducted to explore self-image in pediatric patients with acne, AD, and psoriasis. Chronic skin diseases put pediatric patients at risk for strained family relationships, poor self-image, psychiatric comorbidities, stigmatization, and eventual suicidal behavior. A limitation of this study is a lack of a validated measure of quality of life in the pediatric population that fulfills enough criteria to evaluate long term quality of life in children and adults. Possible management options, including connecting patients with the same diagnosis and allocating resources to parents and teachers to better understand these chronic skin conditions, may provide pediatric patients with the support they need to develop resilience in the face of these challenges. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Children's Body Image, Physical Activity and Health)
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