The Effect of Group Counselling on Body Image Coping Strategy among Adolescent Girls

Background Adolescents, pay particular attention to their body image. Dissatisfaction with body image in people can lead to stress. Accordingly, this study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of group counselling on body image and coping strategies among adolescent girls. Materials and Methods This clinical trial study was conducted on 60 adolescent girls in Karaj City, Iran. The samples were selected using a multi stage sampling technique. For the intervention group, four counseling sessions were held weekly and each session lasted 60 to 90 minutes. The control group received an educational body image package at the end. The Multidimensional Body-Self Relations questionnaire and Body Image Coping Strategy Inventory were completed by participants in both groups before and two weeks after the intervention. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS-19.0 software.   Results The mean score of the positive rational acceptance before the intervention in intervention and control groups were 43.541±2.798 and 41.875±13.146, respectively. These values after the intervention were 62.708±2.484 and 46.972±16.545 in the intervention and control groups, respectively. There was a significant difference between the intervention and control groups in the mean score of body image and the positive rational acceptance two weeks after the completion of the intervention (P = 0.0001). Conclusion The overall results of this study indicated the effectiveness of intervention (Group Counseling) in improving the body image score and increasing the positive strategic skills.

Keywords:

Adolescent , Body image , Coping strategy , Girls , Iran