Research done by Phillips (1984) revealed that children from low-income families may have lower self-esteem which makes them more vulnerable to anxiety and other mental illnesses. This is backed up by a recent research in Hong Kong also shows that children from low-income families scored lower on self-esteem and quality of life and higher on depressive symptoms (Ho, Li & Chan, 2015). This increases the need for emotional support for children from low-income families. This is important as self-esteem is considered an important aspect of life and mental well-being (Fox, 2000).
Social Issues
What can help them?
Research done shows that physical activity has a positive relationship with self-esteem (Tremblay, Inman & Willms, 2000). Both females and males had considerably higher levels of self-esteem when they were physically active.
Exercise of course!
eXercise Because You Can!
Mass Workout Session for Primary School
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All types of exercises will be included such as aerobics, yoga, and stretching.
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The Workout Session will be conducted once every week at primary schools.
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Health Promotion Point of View
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The health promotion method used will be message framing. By telling the students that they will feel better about themselves if they exercise, the students will most probably start to exercise more often.
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The venue for this mass workout will be at schools as it will be easily accessible for all primary school students and hence, intervention can start early.
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The mass workout will be implemented every week and will be encouraged out of school so that the students will have a habit of exercising.
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(Taylor, 2015).
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References
Fox, K. (2000). Physical activity and psychological well-being (E.d.). London: Routledge.
Ho, K. Y., Li, W. H. & Chan, S. S. (2015). The effect of poverty and income disparity on the psychological well-being of Hong Kong children. Public Health Nursing, 32(3), 212-21. doi: 10.1111/phn.
Phillips, R. H. (1984). Increasing positive self-referent statements to improve self-esteem in low-income elementary school children. Journal of School Psychology, 22(2), 155-163. doi:10.1016/0022-4405(84)90035-9
Taylor, S. E. (2015). Health psychology (9th e.d.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill Education.
Tremblay, M. S., Inman, J. W. & Willms, J. D. (2000). The Relationship between Physical Activity, Self-Esteem, and Academic Achievement in 12-Year-Old Children. Pediatric Exercise Science, 12(3), 312-323. doi: 10.1123/pes.12.3.312