Girls United on the Move: A Unique Integrated Physical Activity and Psychosocial Program for At-risk Adolescent Girls (GUM)

A League of Their Own: Examining the Effectiveness of a Psycho-social and Sport Program Targeting At-risk Adolescent Girls

The purpose of this project is to evaluate the effectiveness of a 9-week psycho-social and physical activity program aimed at improving body image, physical self-perceptions, and self-compassion for at-risk adolescent girls. In collaboration with the Elizabeth Fry Society, the GUM program will be delivered to at-risk adolescent girls within the Okanagan Region. Information will be gathered concerning program content and delivery, as well as insights into the participants' experiences with the program. These results will provide much needed information about whether programs integrating psychological, social, and physical components of health are beneficial for this population.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Physical Activity
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Single-Arm Feasibility

Detailed Description

Body dissatisfaction increases throughout adolescence; strong associations have been established between body image emotions and negative self--perceptions, reduced self-compassion, low self- esteem, and depression in adolescent girls. This is heightened in at--risk adolescent girls, including those of low socioeconomic status, who have experienced abuse and who have limited social support. As such, unique strategies aimed at reducing negative self--perceptions of one's physical self and improving self- compassion among at--risk adolescent girls are needed. Engagement in physical activity is one way in which adolescent girls may experience positive self--perceptions, enhanced body image emotions, and increased self--compassion, yet the research has primarily focused on girls who are already involved in organized physical activities (i.e., athletes). To address this need, the research team and representatives from the Central Okanagan Elizabeth Fry Society, a National charitable organisation dedicated to advancing the safety, legal rights, and economic security of women and children, have co--created the unique 9- week Girls United and on the Move (GUM) integrated program (psycho-social and physical activity) to improve physical self--perception, body image, and self--compassion among at--risk adolescent girls living in the Okanagan Region of British Columbia. This is particularly important in the Okanagan where there is a high number of adolescent girls from low income, abusive households, with many facing sexual exploitation and extreme despair, compared to other adolescent girls in British Columbia. Thus, the current aim is to implement and undertake a comprehensive evaluation of the program's effectiveness in terms of physical self--perceptions, body image, self--compassion, and commitment to and enjoyment of physical activity, in order to refine and deliver the program more widely.

This 9- week, integrated program will be implemented in up to 8 middle schools throughout the Okanagan. It includes a 1.5 hour, weekly session held at local schools and facilitated by a trained researcher and registered social worker. These sessions include psycho-social components (e.g., understanding healthy relationships, building self--confidence) in addition to engaging in various physical activities (e.g., soccer, dance, and martial arts). At--risk adolescent girls from the participating schools will be identified and recruited by school counsellors. Each school group will include 10- to 12 participants, yielding a total sample of approximately 80-100.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 83
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Canada
  • British Columbia
    • Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, V1V 1V7
      • UBC Okanagan

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 11 years to 15 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Participants who identify with experiencing challenges with personal or family lives.
• Must identify as female between the ages of 11-15 years of age.

Exclusion Criteria:

• No specific exclusion criteria, however, only girls that are specifically identified and invited to join GUM by the school guidance counsellors, at the participating middle schools, will be invited to participate in the research.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Single-Arm Feasibility; 9-week, 1x/week, 90-minute face-to-face sessions.

Behavioral: Single-Arm Feasibility; Participants in each of the 8 participating groups (N=10-12 per group) are exposed to an integrated intervention program (integration of physical activity and psychosocial components). Each session is co-facilitated by a trained research staff member and a registered social worker, providing participants with the opportunity to engage in physical activity behaviours as well as discuss various psychosocial topics that are applicable to the participants interests. Physical activities include participating in group activities such as rock climbing, self-defence, yoga, etc. Psychosocial topics addressed include group discussions around cyber-bullying, sexual abuse and exploitation, gender issues, etc.; Other Names: Girls United and On the Move (GUM) Intervention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Body Image	Measured using the Physical Self-Description Questionnaire (PSDQ), which is a multidimensional tool used to measure physical self--perceptions, body image and self--concept. The purpose of the PSDQ is to see how people describe themselves physically.	Assessing change from baseline to post-intervention (9-weeks).
Self-Compassion	Measured using the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), which is a a valid and reliable 26--item scale that has previously been used in this population.	Assessing change from baseline to post-intervention (9-weeks).
Physical Self-Perceptions	Measured using the Physical Self-Description Questionnaire (PSDQ), which is a multidimensional tool used to measure physical self--perceptions, body image and self--concept. The purpose of the PSDQ is to see how people describe themselves physically.	Assessing change from baseline to post-intervention (9-weeks).

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Sport Enjoyment and Commitment	Measured using the Sport-Commitment Questionnaire, which is a 58-item questionnaire that addresses five components or sub-scales which are believed to impact sport commitment; this includes sport enjoyment, involvement alternatives, personal investments, social constraints, and involvement opportunities. Not only has this construct been shown to be very important in motivating youth in sport, but it also may indicate the positive affect to commitment in youth sport programs.	Assessing change from baseline to post-intervention (9-weeks).
Participant satisfaction and acceptability of the GUM program	Assessed by conducting semi-structured interviews to gather information concerning program content and delivery, as well as insights into their experiences with the program.	Post-Intervention (9-weeks)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of British Columbia
• Collaborators: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Cristina Caperchione, PhD, University of British Columbia

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Caperchione CM, Hargreaves N, Sabiston CM, Berg S, Kowalski KC, Ferguson LJ. Exploring the Effectiveness of an Integrated Physical Activity and Psychosocial Program Targeting At-Risk Adolescent Girls: Protocol for the Girls United and on the Move (GUM) Intervention Study. JMIR Res Protoc. 2020 Jun 9;9(6):e15302. doi: 10.2196/15302.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 10, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 29, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): May 30, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 15, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 12, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): June 25, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 4, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 2, 2019
• Last Verified: October 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: H17-01540

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No