PECULIARITIES OF PHYSICAL SELF-CONCEPT AND PSYCHIC WELL-BEING OF FIFTH TO TWELFTH-GRADERS

Building on numerous studies that have established the positive influence of physical activities on physical and mental health, this study AIMED to specifically investigate the influence, interrelations, and dynamics between Physical Self-Concept and the Well-being of fifth to twelfth-graders. The research was done among 46 pupils—23 girls and 23 boys—between the ages of 11 and 17, divided into groups according to their gender and age: 11-14-year-olds (24 pupils) and 15-17-year-olds (22 pupils). The pupils study at the Private Secondary School Roerich, where they extensively study foreign languages and art. METHODS: The research methods included a Bulgarian adaptation of the Physical Self-Description Questionnaire (PSDQ-S), which measures Physical Self-concept through scales measuring nine specific and two general components: global physical self-esteem and global self-esteem and a Well-being Index. RESULTS: Both tests of the Physical self-concept show that the main components are health and being overweight. We found statistically significant differences regarding the age in the second test related to appearance (U=174,000; p=0.05). The older pupils had higher results (М=3.83; SD= 1.53) than the younger ones (М=3.08; SD= 1.51). The data from the regression analysis showed that in the first testing, the high level of coordination (β=0.434) and the general physical self-concept (β=0.342) positively influenced well-being. In the second test, the coordination increased (β=0.656), while overweight (β=-0.319) negatively influenced the pupils' well-being. CONCLUSION: The results from this study may facilitate our understanding of the role of pupils' physical self-concept in their well-being.