Accompanying materials housed with archival copy. / The purpose of this research was to describe and critically interpret girls' experiences with respect to body image, physical activity and health. The qualitative inquiry included focus group and individual interviews, document analysis and field observations. These methods were used to explore the perceptions of sixty-three girls (grades eight and eleven) and staff from an inner-city high school. Through interpretive data analysis (and constant comparison), the inter-related themes of body image, physical activity and health branched into the sub-themes of societal influences and personal attitudes including: friends, boys, family, school and media. Girls' body images ranged from minor preoccupations to major dissatisfaction with their bodies, while a few girls were happy being themselves. Weak or negative family influences gave way to influences by media, boys and friends. A few girls were very active, whereas others' low levels of participation were attributed to: disinterest in physical activity, intimidation by boys, or perceived lack of opportunity. The girls' perceptions of health incorporated fitness, weight, and eating habits. Girls often used negative qualifiers when describing their weight or body shape. Generally, girls perceived overweight individuals as not taking care of themselves. This research supports the development of gender sensitive physical education programs promoting healthier lifestyles for females.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.35316 |
| Date | January 1996 |
| Creators | Galloti, Lorraine. |
| Contributors | Dyson, Ben P. (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Arts (Department of Physical Education.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001557244, proquestno: MQ29543, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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