An Experimental Study Of The Effects Of Football-Specific Instruction On Middle School Students’ Body Image:the Mediating Role Of Social Comparison And The Moderating Role Of Emotion Regulation Strategy

Objectives:The study explores the effects of continuous 12-week football program instruction on middle school students’ social comparison,body image,and emotion regulation,analyzes the mediating role of social comparison in football program instruction to improve body image and the moderating role of emotion regulation strategy,explores the mechanism of action of football program instruction to influence body image,and provides practical references for football program instruction to improve youths’ body image.Research methods:Using a convenient sampling method,86 students in the first grade of a middle school in Zhenjiang were selected for the study and divided into an experimental group(45 students)and a control group(41 students)for football program teaching,and the experiment was conducted for 12 weeks,three times a week,for 30 minutes each time.Social comparison,emotion regulation strategy and body image were measured using the Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure,(INCOM),Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire,(MBSRQ),Emotion Regulation Scale,(ERS),in the first week of the experiment and after 12 weeks of the experiment by class group measurement.Statistical analysis was conducted using the social statistical analysis software package SPSS 26.0 and Mplus 8.3.Results:(1)After 12 weeks of experimental intervention with football program instruction,middle school students’ social comparison[F(1,40)=6.271,P<0.016,ηp2=0.136],cognitive reappraisal strategy[F(1,40)=5.511,P<0.024,ηp2=0.121],body image[F(1,40)=11.788,P<0.001,ηp2=0.228]had an interaction effect on group and time,and expression suppression strategy[F(1,40)=3.856,P=0.057,ηp2=0.088]did not have an interaction effect.Simple effects analysis showed that the social comparison,cognitive reappraisal strategy,and body image on the posttest of the experimental group of subjects in the middle school students were higher than those of the control group of middle school students(P<0.05)when the football-specific instruction lasted for 12 weeks.The social comparison,cognitive reappraisal strategy,and body image of the experimental group of middle school students were significantly higher than those of the pre-test(P<0.05),while the social comparison of the control group of middle school students was significantly higher than that of the pre-test(P<0.05),and the changes in their cognitive reappraisal strategy and body image were not significant(P>0.05).(2)There were significant positive correlations between football program instruction and social comparison(r=0.297),cognitive reappraisal strategy(r=0.309)and body image(r=0.461),and significant negative correlations between football program instruction and expression suppression strategy(r=-0.274)among middle school students.There was a significant positive correlation between social comparison and cognitive reappraisal strategy(r=0.240)and body image(r=0.404);a significant positive correlation between cognitive reappraisal strategy and body image(r=0.372),and a significant negative correlation between cognitive reappraisal strategy and expression suppression strategy(r=-0.230).(3)After 12 weeks of continuous football program instruction,social comparison partially mediated the effect between football-specific instruction and body image(95%CI:0.007-0.197),with a mediating effect of 0.089,accounting for 18.8%of the total effect,controlling for gender and BMI.Middle school students’ cognitive reappraisal strategy was able to moderate the first half of the pathway of the mediating role of social comparison between football-specific instruction and body image(β=-0.283,r=-2.597,P<0.05).Conclusion:(1)Football program instruction can significantly improve middle school students’social comparison,cognitive reappraisal strategy,and body image,and regular physical education can significantly improve students’ social comparison.(2)Football program instruction can improve body image by improving social comparison,social comparison plays a partly mediating role in football program instruction to improve middle school students’ body image.(3)In the relationship between football program instruction and body image,the mediating role of social comparison was moderated by cognitive reappraisal strategy,and the positive contribution of football program instruction to the social comparison of junior high school students with low cognitive reappraisal strategy was stronger.