?
Исследование взаимосвязи размеров тела и социального статуса детей и подростков в коллективе сверстников (на примере русских школьников)
The perception of own position in a social group, as well as an assessment of the position of other people, are of great importance for the successful adaptation of individual in society. The purpose of this work is to study the relationship between body size (height, weight) and the social status of schoolchildren in group of peers. The objectives of the study included differentiation of the social status of students in school, gender and age differences of popularity, analysis of the relationship between social status and body size with control by sex and age.
Materials and Methods. The data was collected among schoolchildren in Moscow 10-18 years old. 1077 people (507 boys and 570 girls) were examined. At the first stage of the research procedure, all students completed a demographic questionnaire (gender, age, ethnicity). The sample included only Russian schoolchildren (using self-esteem). For assessing of child's social status we used a peer-esteem method: each participant was assigned an appropriate rank (rating) within the class. Next, anthropometric measurements of the total body dimensions of each respondent were made - body length, body weight, followed by the calculation of the body mass index (BMI).
Results. Data analysis showed the presence of significant morphological predictors of height, weight and BMI for social status in adolescence. The most popular schoolchildren aged 12-13, 14-15 years old were taller and larger than their classmates, and the shortest and thinnest, on the contrary, had a low status. This dependence was more pronounced in boys than in girls. Our results show that underweight adolescents are no less vulnerable in peer assessment of their social status than overweight students.
Conclusions. The results obtained deepen our understanding of the relationship between body size and social status and the related problems of victimization and aggressive behavior in adolescent groups. These data can be used in the development of preventive programs to reduce bullying at school.