Physical and psychological effects of postural educational intervention for students experienced school refusal

Abstract

Poor posture has been shown to decrease both visceral and respiratory/circulatory function as well as to increase neuro-musculoskeletal system stress. Improper postures of children at school and in daily life can affect their physical and psychological development. In particular, many children who refuse to go to school or who have experienced school refusal have physical and mental problems. Given that posture is closely related to one’s psychological state, modifying one’s posture can improve both physical and psychological health problems. This study examined the changes to school-refusing students’ physical and psychological condition after attending an intervention to improve their posture. The participants were 65 high school students who have experienced school refusal and were attending a program to modify their posture for 2 months. Their posture and psychological states were recorded both pre- and post-intervention with the following measurements: postural alignment and spinal curve according to a sagittal plane, the General Health Questionnaire 30 (GHQ), and the Subjective Adjustment Scale (SAS). Post-intervention, most of the participants saw improvement in their postural alignment (e.g., trunk inclination in standing position, P < 0.001, 95%CI [2.00, 4.00]). Participants with improved standing posture post-intervention had higher SAS scores (e.g., feeling of acceptance and trust, P < 0.05, 95%CI [−3.00, −0.00]). We found that easy-to-implement postural interventions have a positive effect on students’ mental health. Furthermore, it was suggested that their adjustment to school would also improve as their posture improved. The contribution of this study shows that it is possible to care for the physical and mental health of students without using special facilities and techniques. It is hoped that the findings of this study will lead to an improved adjustment to both school or novel environments, as well as prevent health-based school refusal.

Effects of Postural Interventions on Physical and Psychological Aspects of Children in Terms of Secondary Sexual Characteristics

“…Subsequently, the neutral position of the pelvis was set by applying force to the lower abdomen. Finally, the posture was maintained with both scapulae slightly adducted and the chest expanded [ 21 ]. All participants were instructed to perform these actions for postural improvement once per day at least once every 2–3 days, for approximately 1 month.…”

“…Posture and the physical and psychological states are linked and impact one another [ 19 , 20 ]. In previous research that examined postural interventions’ psychological effects, the authors conducted a postural intervention on high school students who experienced school truancy and found that the intervention positively affected the students’ mental health and that they felt better adjusted to school as their posture improved [ 21 ]. Harvey [ 22 ] also reported that college students who received postural feedback training showed improvements in subjective posture and on the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey questionnaire on physical function, emotions, energy/fatigue, confidence, and overall stress ratings.…”

The Kinematic and Kinetic Responses of the Trunk and Lower Extremity Joints during Walking with and without the Spinal Orthosis

“…Adolescents with poor posture have a higher frequency of functional and structural pathologies, such as headaches, lumbar pain, and soft tissue damage. Moreover, poor posture in adolescence may also lead to the aforementioned problems in adulthood [ 10 ]. Over time, these can cause imbalance and instability and increase the risk of falls in older adults [ 11 ].…”

Evaluation of the prevalence of sagittal plane changes in the spine of elementary students in the city of Ceres, Brazil

“…Students have inadequate posture in everyday life due to shyness, puberty, physical inactivity, and incorrect use of school bags. Thus, the school environment becomes conducive to such behavior (da Rosa et al, 2016;Maekawa et al, 2021;.…”

“…Daily activities greatly affect the physical health of young people, causing changes and discomfort. In addition, postural problems can cause respiratory and circulatory dysfunction, and affect physical and psychological development (Maekawa et al, 2021). The asymmetrical use of heavy backpacks (Noll et al, 2019), long periods of sitting in an improper position, inadequate posture for sleeping , use of inappropriate furniture, watching television for a long time (Noll et al, 2019), and performance of different daily life activities (DLA) with improper posture are related to the onset of musculoskeletal symptoms (Junior et al, 2015).…”