A community based and mixed-methods approach to exploring the Dove Confident Me five-session body image intervention in a holistic school classroom
Purpose: Body dissatisfaction is experienced by many adolescents and is linked to mental, physical, and social consequences. Increasing rates of body dissatisfaction amongst adolescents have led to developing teacher-delivered interventions to alleviate the reliance on external providers and increase the accessibility of such interventions. This paper describes a pilot study which explored the delivery of the Dove Confident Me 5-Session Body Confidence Program through a mixed methods approach. In this study, the researcher worked collaboratively with the students and teacher to determine program adaptations needed to elicit positive body image and self-esteem in a classroom in Saskatchewan. Method: This study took place at a small private school in Saskatchewan which delivers the Saskatchewan curriculum through a holistic lens with a focus on arts, community, and nature. A classroom teacher received training to deliver the Dove program to their classroom. A small sample of students (n=6) between the ages of 11-13 received sessions one to three of the Dove Confident Me 5-Session Program. Students were measured on body-esteem and self-esteem at baseline and post-intervention. Students also completed session evaluation forms after the delivery of each session and participated in a focus group guided by the researcher at the end of the program. Following the end of the program, the teacher participated in an open-ended interview with the researcher to share their experience and provide feedback about the program. Results: The quantitative measures were analyzed using SPSS Version 28 while the qualitative interviews were transcribed and coded using NVivo 12. The delivery of sessions four and five were cancelled due to low ratings of enjoyment of sessions and relevance of program for sessions one to three. Students showed no significant differences for self-esteem and body esteem from baseline to post-intervention. Students strongly disliked the binary gender approach to the program and found the program to be both unrelatable and unrealistic. Students suggested making the program more gender inclusive and normalizing conversations surrounding body image and body dissatisfaction. The facilitator of the program (classroom teacher) had mixed reviews of the program and came across several difficulties while delivering the program including delivering the program to a high needs classroom, receiving negative reactions from students, program materials not aligning with the school values and teaching philosophy, and the material not being age appropriate. He suggested that teachers should ensure the program aligns with the school values and classroom dynamic before delivering the program, that the program be adapted to be gender inclusive, and that the program be delivered to older adolescents. Implications: While previous research has found promising results for the Dove Confident Me: 5-Session Body Confidence Program, this study revealed there are fundamental changes that need to occur to ensure it is well received by students and to increase the effects on body-esteem and self-esteem for adolescents. The main gap identified by this research was the lack of gender inclusivity built into the session materials. As a program designed to increase body confidence in adolescence, the outright exclusion of gender diverse content and representation is problematic for students who identify as non-binary, trans, genderfluid, and any other gender identity outside of male and female. Future body confidence programs implemented in schools must therefore work to be gender inclusive and continuously be evaluated to ensure these programs are addressing the needs of adolescent populations today. Keywords: body-esteem, self-esteem, body image, body confidence, Dove Confident Me
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Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Regina