Functionality appreciation in young children

Abstract

In recognition of a need to better understand children's body image, this study aimed to explore how young children describe what they appreciate about their body functionality. A total of 381 British children aged four to six years old were interviewed in a brief play-based session. We looked at the absolute number of responses children gave when asked to list all the amazing things they could do with their bodies as well as the range of responses across body functionality domains using a coding rubric. We assessed whether there were differences by age and gender for both scores and then tested whether each were associated with body appreciation. On average, we found that children listed five amazing things they can do with their body across two body functionality domains. There were no significant differences by gender for either score. Older children gave significantly more functionality appreciation responses than younger children, which spanned more domains. The number of functionality appreciation domains children covered in their responses was positively associated with body appreciation while the total number included in their list was not. Insights from this preliminary work can aid the development and evaluation of positive body image interventions for young children.

Keywords: Body appreciation; Body functionality; Functionality appreciation; Positive body image; Young children.