Pubertal Health Group Counseling Based on Problem-Solving, for Body Image Concerns and Anxiety in Adolescent Girls

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Adolescent Health
• Mental Health Interventions

Background:

• Body image concerns are prevalent among adolescent girls during puberty.
• Anxiety is a common co-occurring issue during this developmental stage.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of problem-solving group counseling for body image concerns and anxiety in adolescent girls.
• To assess the impact of a 6-week pubertal health group counseling intervention.

Main Methods:

• A quasi-experimental study involving 100 adolescent female students.
• Intervention group received weekly 90-minute problem-solving counseling sessions for 6 weeks.
• Data collected using socio-demographic questionnaires, Body Image Concern Inventory, and Zung Anxiety Scale.

Main Results:

• Statistically significant reductions in body image concerns and anxiety were observed in the intervention group post-counseling.
• The intervention group showed mean differences of -21.40 for body image concern and -9.68 for anxiety immediately after the intervention.
• ANCOVA revealed significant differences between groups post-intervention, with effect sizes of 0.56 for body image concern and 0.41 for anxiety.

Conclusions:

• Problem-solving group counseling is an effective intervention for reducing body image concerns and anxiety in adolescent girls.
• Findings support the integration of this counseling approach into health planning for adolescent mental well-being.