Insecurities At SchoolLaura & Emily

Year 9McCarthy Catholic College

Aim: To determine if appearance affects students confidence at school.Hypothesis: Female students will be more affected by appearance insecurities than male students.Materials:59 males students aged 13 to 1879 female students aged 13 to 18

Method1. Students were asked to complete and

anonymous survey containing four questions about their insecurities related to their appearance.

2. 138 students were selected to complete the survey at random from a particular house at school.

3. The results were recorded in a table and analysed.

Questions That Were Asked 1. Are you worried about what people think of your appearance? a) Yesb) No

2. How long does it take you to get ready in the mornings if you have to see your peers?c) 5 to 20 minutesd) 20 to 40 minutese) 40+

3. Is your confidence level lower if your not happy with your appearance? f) Yes g) No

4. If someone insulted your appearance what would your reaction be?0 1 2 3 4 5 Not at all A little, but

forget quickly A little, but dwell on it

Distressed and not show it

Distressed and angry

Extremely distressed, and show it

Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female13 Years 14 Years 15 Years 16 Years 17 Years 18 Years

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

1. Are You Worried About What People Think of Your Appearance?

YesNo

Num

ber

of R

espo

nden

tsResults

2. How long does it take to get ready in the mornings if you have to see your peers?

(Getting changed, hair, makeup etc.)

Age (Years)

13 14 15 16 17 18

Gender

Male Female

Male

Female

Male

Female

Male

Female

Male

Female

Male

Female

5-20 mins

12 12 15 6 8 7 5 6 6 5 0 0

20-40 mins

2 11 0 5 2 6 2 3 1 1 0 0

40+ mins

0 6 0 3 1 4 2 3 1 0 1 0

Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female13 Years 14 Years 15 Years 16 Years 17 Years 18 Years

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

163. Is your confidence level lower if you’re not happy

with your appearance?

YesNo

Num

ber

of R

Espo

nden

ts

4. If someone insulted your appearance how does it affect you?

 Age (Years) 13 14 15 16 17 18

 Gender Male Female

Male Female

Male Female

Male Female

Male Female

Male Female

not at all 4 3 4 0 2 1 4 0 4 1 1 0

a little but forget quickly

7 9 6 4 7 6 4 1 3 1 0 0

a little but dwell on it 2 6 3 5 1 3 0 3 0 1 0 0

distressed but not show it

2 10 2 3 1 4 1 4 1 2 0 0

distressed and angry 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 0

extremely distressed and show it

0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0

Discussion- The results showed that, in general, girls felt more insecure than

the boys. The boys mostly selected no when asked if they were worried about their appearance. The results also showed that the girls took more time than the boys to get ready to see their peers. The females mostly selected yes when asked if their confidence level is lower when their not happy with their appearance. As aged increased in the survey respondents so did the level of distress when people commented negatively about appearance.

- Our method of testing was valid as the same survey was given to each respondent. The quality of the data would have been improved by including more students in the survey. This would have also ensured that more students in the 17 and 18 years categories responded. To ensure the anonymity of the survey we asked a particular ‘House’ at school to complete the survey in Homeroom. We did not have direct control over the return of the surveys and hence not all 17-18 year respondents returned the information.

ConclusionO These results supported the

hypothesis: Female students will be more affected by appearance insecurities than male students.