Liggaamsbou se verband met geluk-en-tevredenheid by 12- tot 15-jarige dogters in die Noordwes Provinsie : die THUSA BANA studie

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the relation of body composition and the level of happiness and satisfaction experienced by 12 to 15 year old white, black, coloured and Indian girls. This study is a part of the THUSA BANA project, which had been approved by the ethical committee of the PU for CHE. Maturation stage according to age differences, body fat percentage and body mass index (BMI) were assessed. The Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale (Piers, 1984) was used to evaluate the current level of happiness and satisfaction among the various subjects. Changes in happiness and satisfaction were noted due to conflicting feelings of competence with physical appearance and social acceptance among peers. The test population consisted of female subjects from four different ethnical backgrounds ranging between 12 and 15 years of age. A cross-sectional comparative design was used, and the research method was descriptive research. The anthropometric variables and techniques selected were primarily those described in Norton & Olds (1996). Data analyses were performed using Statistica for Windows (StatSoft, Inc. 1984 - 2000). A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a two-way analysis of variance procedures (MANOV A) were used for all comparisons. Although no statistical significant differences (p<0.05) were found between body composition and the level of happiness and satisfaction, a clear trend among the different ethnic- and age groups were observed, which indicated that the prevalence of low happiness and satisfaction scores seemed to decrease according to increases of body fat percentage and body mass index. These findings depict a contrast to other studies and emphasise the importance of further research.