H. Jarman
‘Everybody’s Different: The Appearance Game’. A randomised controlled trial evaluating an appearance-related board game intervention with children aged 9-11 years
Jarman, H.; Guest, Ella; Hannah, Jarman; Sharratt, Nicholas; Williamson, Heidi; White, Paul; Harcourt, Diana; Slater, Amy
Authors
Ella Guest Ella.Guest@uwe.ac.uk
Occasional Associate Lecturer - HAS HSS
Jarman Hannah
Nicholas Sharratt Nick.Sharratt@uwe.ac.uk
Research Fellow in Centre for Appearance Research
Heidi Williamson Heidi3.Williamson@uwe.ac.uk
Associate Professor in Applied Health Research
Paul White Paul.White@uwe.ac.uk
Associate Professor in Applied Statistics
Diana Harcourt Diana2.Harcourt@uwe.ac.uk
Professor in Appearance & Health Psychology Research
Amy Slater Amy.Slater@uwe.ac.uk
Associate Professor in Centre for Appearance Research
Abstract
This study evaluated the effectiveness of an educational board game aimed at increasing knowledge of appearance-related issues, positive body image, media literacy, and acceptance of appearance diversity with British school children. Two hundred and fifty-nine children, aged 9-11 (Mage = 10.26), from three primary schools in South-West England participated in a two-arm matched cluster randomised controlled trial. Outcome measures were collected pre-, post- and at two-week follow- up. Knowledge of appearance-related issues significantly increased in the intervention group, compared to the control group post-intervention, but was not maintained at follow-up. There were no significant differences between groups for body appreciation, media literacy or acceptance of visible difference. Of the intervention arm, 78% (n=117) they would like to play again and 85.3% (n=128) thought other children would like to play. Qualitative data suggests participants learned the key messages of the game. The findings suggest ‘Everybody’s Different: The Appearance Game’ is an enjoyable way to increase knowledge of appearance-related issues. In future, researchers should consider how to increase body appreciation, media literacy and acceptance of appearance diversity, for example by increasing the dosage of the game or using it in conjunction with discussions and lessons surrounding appearance diversity and appearance-altering conditions.
Citation
Jarman, H., Guest, E., Hannah, J., Sharratt, N., Williamson, H., White, P., …Slater, A. (2021). ‘Everybody’s Different: The Appearance Game’. A randomised controlled trial evaluating an appearance-related board game intervention with children aged 9-11 years. Body Image, 36, 34-44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.09.010
| Journal Article Type | Article |
|---|---|
| Acceptance Date | Sep 30, 2020 |
| Online Publication Date | Nov 5, 2020 |
| Publication Date | Mar 1, 2021 |
| Deposit Date | Nov 2, 2020 |
| Publicly Available Date | May 6, 2022 |
| Journal | Body Image |
| Print ISSN | 1740-1445 |
| Publisher | Elsevier |
| Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
| Volume | 36 |
| Pages | 34-44 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.09.010 |
| Public URL | https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/6777531 |
Files
This file is under embargo until May 6, 2022 due to copyright reasons.
Contact Ella.Guest@uwe.ac.uk to request a copy for personal use.