The quest to improve body image in adolescent girls - school-based interventions is only part of the answer: A case study from Victoria

Abstract

Body image continues to be an important issue for young people. One of several approaches to improving it is school-based interventions. One such intervention has been running since 2007 in a rural Victorian school with one of several aims being to improve body image. Body image was measured using the Ben-Tovim – Walker Body Image Questionnaire. This paper presents a case study of a cohort of girls who participated in two or three years of the intervention. The results are mixed; some measured components of body image such as attractiveness and disparagement have shown significant effects over time. While changes in another component, feeling fat, suggest that the intervention had a negative impact on some girls. The paper argues that interventions such as these, while aimed at supporting girls to develop a positive body image, may not achieve it due to societal factors that have a significantly greater effect over time.