Exploring adolescent girls' experiences of body talk in non-aesthetic sport.

INTRODUCTION: Body image concerns may contribute to poor sport experiences and low sport participation in girls. Objectification theory and evidence from studies in non-sport contexts suggests body talk may elicit an environment that fosters negative body image. However, the phenomenon of body talk within adolescent girls sport is not well-understood from an in-depth person-centered perspective. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to explore adolescent girl athletes' experiences of body talk within sport. METHODS: Twenty Canadian girl athletes (ages 14-18 years) enrolled in team-based non-aesthetic sports participated in one semi-structured interview. Using a qualitative description approach, an inductive thematic analysis was used to generate three themes. RESULTS: "Body talk as a performance tactic" highlighted complimentary and negative body talk pertaining to sport performance came from coaches, opposing players, and parents. "Casual conversations and body talk" reflected body talk from teammates and male spectators that was not specific to sport but occurred in the sport context. "Coping with body talk" reflected strategies athletes used to combat negative body talk from teammates, and reflected the athletes' perceptions that negativity towards the body is normative. CONCLUSIONS: Body talk served many purposes within sport; researchers should further explore the diverse motivations and perceived utility of body talk across sport stakeholders. Creating standardized resources and policies to eliminate body talk may foster more positive and supportive sport experiences for girls.

#quarantine15: A content analysis of Instagram posts during COVID-19.

There has been a surge in "quarantine15" social media posts during the self-isolation and lockdowns associated with the COVID-19 global pandemic. Given the influence of other body and weight-centered social media content (e.g., Fitspiration, Fatspiration) on body image and weight stigmatizing thoughts and attitudes, characterizing the features of quarantine15 content is an imperative first step towards understanding its impact on those who view it. Therefore, the present study is a content analysis of quarantine15 content on Instagram. A total of 668 posts were sampled using the hashtag quarantine15, and systematically analyzed for features related to positive and negative body image, as well as weight stigma. The results showed that the posts containing human figures (57.5 %) showcased individuals who were perceived as lower-weight (88.8 %), White (70.3 %), and women (87 %). Approximately one-third (34.4 %) of the images containing individuals were considered objectifying. Posts also perpetuated the controllability of weight through diet (51.5 %) and physical activity (27.5 %), while 46.9 % expressed dislike towards higher-weight bodies. Future experimental research in this area will be important for understanding both the acute and long-term effects of viewing quarantine15 content on body image, weight stigmatizing attitudes and thoughts, and internalized weight stigma.

Understanding Girls' Motivation to Participate in Sport: The Effects of Social Identity and Physical Self-Concept.

Introduction: Girls are often less motivated to participate in community sport compared to boys. Having a strong social identity with a sports team is positively associated with motivation to continue participation in sport, yet the mechanisms explaining this association are not well-known. In the current study, physical self-concept is tested as a mediator of the association between social identity and motivation. Method: Girl badminton athletes were recruited to examine how the team environment shapes physical self-concept, and whether this association relates to motivation to participate in sport. Ninety-two girls completed a self-report survey to measure social identity, physical self-perceptions, and motivation. Two mediation models were conducted to examine whether physical self-concept mediated the relationship between social identity and autonomous motivation and controlled motivation. Results: Physical self-concept partially mediated the relationship between social identity and autonomous motivation. The bootstrapped unstandardized indirect effect was, b = 0.05, 95% CI = 0.002 to.14. Physical self-concept fully mediated the relationship between social identity and controlled motivation. The bootstrapped unstandardized indirect effect was, b = -0.13, 95% CI = -0.30 to -0.01, p = 0.04. Discussion: These results highlight the importance of the group context in relation to individual physical self-concept and motivation. Overall, targeting aspects of the team environment in community-level sport may be an important strategy to improve girls' physical self-concept, and autonomous motivation to continue sport participation.