Examining Body Satisfaction and Emotional–Social Intelligence among School Children: Educational Implications

Abstract

In childhood, the perception of body image is in the construction phase and emerges linked to the aesthetic ideals of society, which is well differentiated according to gender. In this way, according to people’s interpretations of the environment and how to manage it emotionally, greater or lesser body satisfaction may be generated, which could have irreversible consequences for children. Therefore, our interest lies in how body image satisfaction and gender can act as modulating variables of emotional intelligence in childhood, analyzing differences in the intrapersonal, interpersonal, stress management, adaptability, and mood dimensions of emotional intelligence, according to the degree of body image satisfaction and the child’s gender. A total of 944 Primary Education students selected by multistage cluster sampling, 548 boys and 396 girls aged between 9 and 12 years from different schools in Extremadura (Spain), participated in the research. The study design was descriptive, and questionnaires to measure emotional intelligence, self-perception, and body image satisfaction were used. An analysis of descriptive statistics, a Chi-square test to measure the variance/invariance of the participants’ distribution according to their satisfaction with body image and gender, and a MANOVA to determine the possible effects of satisfaction with body image as well as of gender on emotional intelligence were conducted. Regardless of gender, children who were satisfied with their body image showed higher interpersonal intelligence, greater adaptability, and better mood. With respect to gender, girls showed higher stress management than boys. Throughout Compulsory Education, it is necessary to promote campaigns imparted by specialists to prevent body image dissatisfaction, so that the benefits can reach the entire educational community (students, teachers, and parents). In this work, several possibilities are described to meet the demands of contemporary society.

The Relationship between Emotional Intelligence, Obesity and Eating Disorder in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Mapping Review

“…The remaining 47 articles were evaluated for inclusion by reviewing their full text and resulted in the exclusion of 38 records for the following reasons: (1) they did not employ cross-sectional/cohort studies ( n = 5), (2) EI was not a predictor ( n = 11) or (3) participants had a mean age of ≥18 years ( n = 22). Finally, 9 articles [ 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ] were included in the systematic mapping review ( Figure 1 ).…”

“…A description of the included studies is reported in Table 1 . The included articles were published between 2007 [ 35 ] and 2020 [ 34 , 38 ] in China [ 39 , 40 ], Spain [ 34 , 42 ], Germany [ 38 ], France [ 36 ], Mexico [ 41 ], Taiwan [ 37 ] and the United States [ 35 ]. All studies employed a cross-sectional design.…”

“…The mean age ranged from 9.58 [ 38 ] to 18.66 [ 35 ] years across samples. Five out of nine records did not report the BMI of the sample [ 34 , 36 , 37 , 40 , 41 ], and only one study employed the BMI-for-age percentile as an indicator to measure the size and growth patterns of children and teenagers [ 38 ]. Among the remaining articles, the mean BMI ranged from 19.1 kg/m 2 [ 42 ] to 23.2 kg/m 2 [ 35 ].…”

“…Three [ 34 , 38 , 41 ] out of nine studies showed a low risk of bias across the AXIS domains ( Table 2 ). The study design’s appropriateness to the study aims was judged inadequate in three studies [ 35 , 39 , 40 ] due to the use of a cross-sectional design to assess mediation or moderation models, which has been said to be problematic [ 43 ].…”

Linking Cooperative Learning and Emotional Intelligence in Physical Education: Transition across School Stages

“…Recent research has emphasized the contribution made by physical activity and the positive role it can play on students' IE [36][37][38], specifically, through engagement in organized sport [39] and body image satisfaction [40]. PE classes can promote the development of students' EI [41], and CL could be a useful methodological tool to do it because of the structural elements that it includes. Previously reported studies in educational contexts have shown that adequate EI in group members can lead them to develop greater levels of positive interdependence and promotive interaction [32].…”