Relationship between Self-Concept and Perceived Physical Fitness

Some researchers (1, 2 ) have reported an increase in physical performance was related to an increase in self-attitude and self-acceptance for obese teenagers and male rehabilitation clients. Also, aerobic physical fitness scores have been found to be related to favorable responses about self on the MMPI ( 5 ) . The purpose of this study was to determine whether perceived physical fitness was related to self-concept scores of two groups of subjects, 165 high school students in Grades 9 to 12 from Greeley, Colorado and 33 freshman students at Bowling Green State University. A measure of perceived physical fitness was obtained from each group by means of a self-rating scale. High school students were rated on a 5-point scale ( M = 3.98, SD = .76) and college students were rated on a 9-point scale ( M = 5.85, SD = 1.35). The Piers-Harris Children's Self-concept Scale (4) was administered to the high school group ( M = 61.08, SD = 10.59) and an adaptation of the semantic differential (3 ) was used to obtain a measure of self-concept for the college group ( M = 245.33, SD = 30.07). Perceived physical fitness and self-concept scores were significantly but moderately correlated ( p < .05) for high school subjects ( r = .34) and college subjects ( r = .41), in spite of che restriction of the range of scores on each scale for each sample. These ss are consistent with prior findings (1, 2, 5 ) . Physical fitness, determined on the basis of perceived or acrual physical performance, seems an important aspect of the construct of self-concept. These findings may indicate that perceived physical fitness and actual physical performance are related, suggesting stability and validity of a self-report measure of physical health, but relation between perceived and actual physical fitness needs exploration.