International Journal of Psychology, 2015

Vol. 50, No. 2, 101–105, DOI: 10.1002/ijop.12066

The beneficial effect of Tai Chi on self-concept

in adolescents

Xueming Bao1 and Kaimin Jin2

1 Physical and Health Institute, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
2 Wuxing Experimental Middle School of Huzhou, Zhejiang, China

P revious research has documented the beneficial effect of Tai Chi, but most of the studies focused on elders and patients
with specific health conditions. The aim of the study was to test whether Tai Chi can help to improve self-concept
in adolescents with a longitudinal study. The sample comprised 160 students from a Chinese middle school; half of
students formed the experimental group and the rest formed the control group. A 1-year Tai Chi intervention was delivered
in 60-minute sessions, five times a week. Both groups were instructed to complete the measure of self-concept at the
beginning and end of the intervention. Statistical analysis shows the significant reduction of good behaviour, intellectual
and school status, popularity and anxiety in the experimental group compared with the control group. The results suggest
that the Tai Chi intervention could improve self-concept in adolescents.

Keywords: Tai Chi; Adolescents; Self-concept; Mind–body medicine.

Tai Chi, an ancient form of a traditional Chinese phys-
ical exercise, is a popular form of exercise throughout
the world and has drawn much attention in the psycho-
logical literature and beyond, generating intense demand
for applications in medicinal, educational and clinical set-
tings. Tai Chi is a low impact mind–body exercise and
involves the coordination of diaphragmatic breathing with
graceful motions to achieve tranquillity of mind, so it
can be readily used by elderly and medically compro-
mised individuals (Irwin, Pike, & Oxman, 2004). It adopts
a holistic approach of balancing the interaction between
mind and body, with its physical movements having bene-
fits similar to walking, whereas its cognitive aspect resem-
bles a mental state of meditation (Liang, 1977). Therefore,
it also has been considered as a form of “moving medita-
tion” (Wang et al., 2009).
There is an emerging consensus that Tai Chi may have
beneficial effects on both physical functioning and psy-
chological health. Tai Chi may increase maximal oxygen
uptake, lower blood pressure, improve muscle strength
and restore immunity (Jimenez, Melendez, & Albers,
2012). Documented psychological benefits of Tai Chi
come from research conducted around two constructs:
cognitive functioning and quality of life. The former
includes functional aspects of the brain such as memory,
abstract reasoning ability, spatial ability, cognitive pro-
cesses such as attention, psychomotor ability and data
processing speed and their interaction such as intelligence
and problem solving (Chang, Nien, Tsai, & Etnier, 2010;
Jimenez et al., 2012). At the psychological level, Tai Chi
has been found to have positive effects on improvements
in emotional well-being with regard to depression, stress,
anxiety, positive affect and negative affect, life satisfac-
tion with regard to global cognitive evaluations of life and
self-perception in its self-efficacy and self-esteem domain
(Jahnke, Larkey, Rogers, Etnier, & Lin, 2010; Wang et al.,
2010).
Although previous research has indicated that Tai Chi
plays a crucial function in improving self-efficacy and
self-esteem (Jahnke et al., 2010; Li, Harmer, Chaumeton,
Duncan, & Duncan, 2002; Mustian et al., 2004), there is
no research to confirm whether Tai Chi helps to enhance
self-concept. Self-concept is the totality of the individ-
ual’s cognitive image of himself or herself; it is the cog-
nitive component of the self (Houck, Kendall, Miller,
Morrell, & Wiebe, 2011). It involves a descriptive def-
inition of the self and the ideas, beliefs and attitudes
about the self and one’s competencies in various domains
(Houck et al., 2011). Self-esteem is differentiated from
self-concept as the expression of one’s self-concept, and

Correspondence should be addressed to Xueming Bao, Physical and Health Institute, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
(E-mail: baoxueming@gmail.com).
This study was supported by National Education Science Key Research Project during 12th Five-Year Plan of Ministry of Education (DLA120312).

© 2014 International Union of Psychological Science

102 BAO AND JIN
the value and significance one places on one’s self.
Self-efficacy is the experience of self as able to pro-
duce these competencies, whereas self-concept is an
individual’s cognitive image of self and one’s compe-
tencies (Houck et al., 2011). Considering that previous
studies have mainly focused on general self-efficacy and
self-esteem, the purpose of the study is to test whether Tai
Chi can have a beneficial effect on specific components
of self-concept (e.g. physical self-concept into physical
ability and physical appearance).
In the Tai Chi literature, the beneficial effect of Tai
Chi has been sparsely studied in adolescents. Existing
Tai Chi research has focused primarily on those among
relatively healthy older adults and patients with specific
health conditions, especially those with chronic diseases
(Li et al., 2002; Mustian et al., 2004). Adolescence is
a developmental stage that is characterised by a high
number of psychological and physical changes (Brown,
1992). During this period, the development of adoles-
cents’ self-concept is crucial, because it can affect their
emotions, behaviour, academic performance and social
adaptability (Blascovich & Tomaka, 1991; Guay, Marsh,
& Boivin, 2003; Salmivalli, 1998).
In summary, the aim of this study was to test the pos-
itive effect of Tai Chi on self-concept in Chinese adoles-
cents through a 1-year Tai Chi intervention. We used the
Piers–Harris Children’s Self-Concept Scale (PHCSCS;
Piers & Harris, 1964) to measure self-concept. Based on
the prior research, we expected that the Tai Chi inter-
vention would improve adolescents’ self-concept in the
experimental group rather than the control group.
METHOD
Design
To test the important function of Tai Chi in self-concept in
adolescents, a pretest–posttest control group design was
used in this study. Participants needed to participate in
a 60-minute Tai Chi exercise class five times per week
for 1 year (including the summer and winter holidays),
with data collected at baseline, and 1 year following the
intervention. Data were collected from October 2009 to
September 2010.
Participants
Participants were 160 7th grade students attending a pub-
lic middle school in a middle city within the Eastern
Mainland China and they reported no any previous medi-
tation experience. Participants signed consent forms indi-
cating the voluntary and anonymous nature of the study.
Additionally, we also obtained written informed consent
from guardians on the behalf of the minor participants
involved in our study. We assigned them randomly to
either a Tai Chi group (n = 80; 38 males) or a control
group (n = 80; 37 males). Their mean age was 14.74 years
(SD = 0.66; ranging from 13 to 16 years). During the
intervention, some students have not attended classes reg-
ularly or discontinued during the summer or winter hol-
idays, so 142 students with a Tai Chi group (n = 73; 35
males) and a control group (n = 69; 33 males) remained
at the end of the intervention.
Measures
The 80-item PHCSCS (Piers & Harris, 1964) is a quan-
titative self-report measure of adolescents’ self-concept.
The scale consists of six subscales: behaviour ("I do many
bad things"), intellectual and school status ("I am good
in my school work"), physical appearance and attributes
("I am good looking"), anxiety ("I cry easily"), popularity
("People pick on me") and happiness and satisfaction ("I
am a happy person"). The PHCSCS consists of 80 yes/no
statements with 40 positive statements and 40 negative
statements. Negatively worded items are reverse coded to
compute total scores. The scores can range from 0 (low
level of self-concept) to 80 (high level of self-concept).
The total scores range from 0 to 16 for the behaviour sub-
scale, from 0 to 17 for the intellectual and school status
subscale, from 0 to 13 for the physical appearance and
attributes subscale, from 0 to14 for the anxiety subscale,
from 0 to 12 for the popularity subscale and from 0 to
10 for the happiness and satisfaction subscale. The PHC-
SCS has been found to have satisfactory internal consis-
tency and test–retest reliability. The PHCSCS has been
translated into Chinese and has good reliability and valid-
ity (Su, Luo, Zhang, Xie, & Liu, 2002. In this study, the
Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the six subscales were
satisfactory (anxiety: α = .93, behaviour: α = .78, physi-
cal appearance and attributes: α = .88, popularity: α = .91,
intellectual and school status: α = .86 and happiness and
satisfaction: α = .95). The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient
for all items was .89.
Procedure
Participants in the experimental group participated in a
1-year Tai Chi programme, which was conducted five
times a week, and each session lasted for 1 hour. Partici-
pants in the control group needed to do China’s 8th edition
broadcasting gymnastics, which are a form of physical
exercise with stronger exercise intensity than the Tai Chi.
The Tai Chi intervention focused on the coordination of
individual postures, balance, body awareness and breath-
ing inherent to Tai Chi practice. The Yang-style Tai Chi
(24 forms) was used in this study. A martial arts coach of
the Tai Chi from Shandong Sports Team was appointed to
conduct the programme. During the sessions, the instruc-
tor demonstrated the Tai Chi movements, and participants
© 2014 International Union of Psychological Science

TABLE 1
Baseline characteristics of participants
Experimental group
Characteristics Mean (SD)
Age 14.79 (0.69)
Self-concept 52.24 (9.61)
Behaviour 11.04 (2.10)
Intellectual and school status 10.53 (3.27)
Physical appearance and attributes 6.06 (2.52)
Anxiety 7.70 (2.44)
Popularity 9.10 (1.55)
Happiness and satisfaction 7.09 (1.32)
imitated the motions and postures. New Tai Chi move-
ments were introduced in each session, and the entire
sequence took nearly 10 minutes to perform. To eliminate
bias in implementing the intervention and interactions
with participants, the instructor was blinded to outcome
measures. Before each session, their head teacher was
responsible for counting the number of students and
recording the names of the students who were absent.
All the participants needed to complete the PHC-
SCS before and after the application of the programme.
Instructions were read aloud by the researcher, and sample
questions were provided prior to the administration of the
questionnaire. In addition, participants were encouraged
to clarify any questions or confusions they might have
with regard to the questionnaire. We did not encounter any
problems during the process.
Data analysis
All statistical analysis was performed using SPSS for
Windows 18.0 (SPSS Inc). Descriptive statistics were cal-
culated for the participants’ demographic characteristics
and performance level in various tests. Chi-square and
independent t-tests were used to determine group differ-
ences during the pretest. Independent t-tests were also
used to determine group differences during the posttest.
RESULTS
All basic characteristics for two groups during the pretest
are displayed in Table 1. At the baseline, a chi-square
test revealed no significant differences between the Tai
Chi and control groups in terms of such demographic
variables as gender (χ2 = 1.66, p > .05). In addition, inde-
pendent sample t-tests also indicated no significant differ-
ences between the Tai Chi and control groups in relation to
such demographic variables as age, t(140) = 1.25, p > .05,
Cohen’s d = 0.21.
Independent t-tests showed the differences for general
factor of self-concept and all its aspects in the pretest
measures between the control and Tai Chi groups were
© 2014 International Union of Psychological Science
THE EFFECTS OF TAI CHI ON SELF-CONCEPT 103
Control group
Mean (SD) t Cohen’s d
14.65 (0.64) 1.25 0.21
54.03 (8.38) −1.18 −0.19
11.64 (2.21) −1.65 −0.28
10.57 (2.76) −0.08 −0.01
6.00 (2.73) 0.13 0.02
8.48 (2.63) −1.83 −0.30
9.20 (1.37) −0.40 −0.07
7.04 (1.24) 0.23 0.04
non-significant (ps > .05). However, the results of the
independent sample t-tests indicated that significant dif-
ferences existed in some variables between the Tai Chi
and control groups in the posttest measures.
The means and standard deviations for two groups
with reference to the self-concept measure after training
are displayed in Table 2. Compared with the finding
of no significant differences in the pretest, the Tai
Chi group exhibited higher scores in relation to some
aspects of self-concept such as behaviour, t(140) = 3.23,
p < .001, Cohen’s d = 0.54, intellectual and school
status t(140) = 2.69, p < .01, Cohen’s d = 0.45, popular-
ity, t(140) = 3.02, p < .001, Cohen’s d = 0.51, anxiety,
t(140) = 2.84, p < .01, Cohen’s d = 0.48, and global
self-concept, t(140) = 2.97, p < .001, Cohen’s d = 0.50.
However, we found no significant difference in relation
to happiness and satisfaction, t(140) = 0.93, p > .05,
Cohen’s d = 0.16, and physical appearance and attributes,
t(140) = 1.06, p > .05, Cohen’s d = 0.18, between the Tai
Chi and control groups. As predicted, the findings indi-
cate that a statistically significant improvement existed
in self-concept variables of the Tai Chi group after the
1 year of Tai Chi training (Figure 1).
DISCUSSION
Tai Chi, a popular physical exercise, has spread world-
wide over the past two decades. The purpose of this study
was to investigate whether the nature of Tai Chi helps to
improve self-concept in adolescents. The results from this
study indicate that compared with the control group, the
Tai Chi group yielded significant gains over time in some
specific subdomains of self-concept. Specifically, Tai Chi
participants reported higher levels of perceptions within
desirable or good behaviours, intellectual and school sta-
tus, popularity and less within anxiety after 1 year of Tai
Chi practice. Although the measures of self-concept are
expected theoretically to be stable, the observed change
in this study is an interesting one. These findings are
consistent with the earlier studies that reported the psy-
chological effects of Tai Chi. Empirical evidence sug-
gests that older adults showed increased levels of global
104 BAO AND JIN
TABLE 2
Changes of the dependent variables of the Tai Chi and control groups after training
Experimental group
Dependent variable Mean (SD)
Self-concept 54.90 (10.31)
Behaviour 12.67 (2.61)
Intellectual and school status 11.87 (2.96)
Physical appearance and attributes 6.74 (2.84)
Anxiety 6.51 (2.19)
Popularity 9.78 (1.63)
Happiness and satisfaction 7.33 (1.16)
*p < .01; **p < .001.
Figure 1. Comparison of self-concept measures between Tai Chi group
and control group after Tai Chi training.
self-esteem after a 6-month Tai Chi programme (Li et al.,
2002). Older adults who practice Tai Chi regularly have
also demonstrated improvements in cognitive function
including cognitive ability and life satisfaction among
older adults (Chang et al., 2010).
Non-significant results in relation to some specific
subdomains of self-concept may be due to several rea-
sons. As pointed out by Plummer (1982), each Tai Chi
movement needs to be integrated by mind concentra-
tion, balanced shifting of body weight, muscle relaxation
and breath control. The essence of Tai Chi is difficult to
bring out only through doing the movements. In addition,
Yang-style Tai Chi might be too complicated to learn and
memorise by the younger participants. Because partici-
pants needed to focus on learning and memorising the
sequence of the movements, they could not grasp the gist
of Tai Chi and enjoy the exercises. A more simplified,
easy-to-learn and easy-to-perform Tai Chi movements
might be more appropriate for the young adolescents.
In addition, self-concept is crucial for several outcomes
including social behaviours and academic performance.
Therefore, future studies should test whether this Tai Chi
exercise may influence adolescents’ emotions, academic
performance and social adaptability. Finally, the data from
this study relied exclusively on a self-report measure.
Although the measure had good reliability and validity,
Control group
Mean (SD) t Cohen’s d
49.39 (11.75) 2.97** 0.50
11.25 (2.62) 3.23** 0.54
10.57 (2.79) 2.69* 0.45
6.25 (2.64) 1.06 0.18
5.28 (2.90) 2.84* 0.48
8.91 (1.80) 3.02** 0.51
7.13 (1.39) 0.93 0.16
self-report measures are subjective by nature and vulner-
able to bias (e.g. social desirability). The use of multiple
methods for evaluation (teacher report) may decrease the
influence of subjectivity.
In summary, results from this study indicated that Tai
Chi could be useful as an alternative form of exercise
to improve adolescents’ perceptions of their cognitive
image of themselves. Future work should be to assess
whether elements learned in Tai Chi (e.g. concentration of
mind) could be incorporated into adolescents’ repertoire
of self-regulatory and inner control techniques. There is
evidence that cognitive-behavioural treatments do work
in this regard (Brandon, Eason, & Smith, 1986). Perhaps,
in addition to techniques learned in Tai Chi and knowl-
edge about benefits that Tai Chi may bring, relaxation
training and/or yoga could become part of adolescents’
repertoire of stress management skills. Those designing
school curricula might follow the lead of general interest
in Tai Chi training, by considering its inclusion in physi-
cal education and stress management programmes. These
programmes can be developed and implemented into edu-
cational system via physical education classes and clinical
practice via academic curriculum courses.
Manuscript received February 2013
Revised manuscript accepted March 2014
First published online April 2014
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