BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Health Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1515393
This article is part of the Research TopicNovel Intervention Models Transcending Borders for Stress Management - Volume IIIView all 14 articles
Enhancing interoceptive awareness in community-dwelling older adults: Effects of a psychomotor intervention mediated by creative dance
Provisionally accepted
- 1Comprehensive Health Research Centre, University of Evora, Évora, Portugal
- 2Departamento de Desporto e Saúde, Escola de Saúde e Desenvolvimento Humano, Universidade de Évora, Évora, Portugal
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Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effects of a psychomotor intervention mediated by creative dance on interoceptive awareness in community-dwelling older adults. Methods: This 12week non-randomized clinical trial involved 34 participants (74.6 ± 6.6 years), divided into two groups. The experimental group (EG) engaged in a psychomotor intervention (3x/week; 60min/session), while the control group (CG) continued their usual daily activities. Interoceptive awareness was assessed using the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness at baseline and post-intervention. Results: Within-group comparison showed significant improvements in the EG for the scales of Noticing, Not-Worrying, Attention Regulation, Emotional Awareness, Self-Regulation, and Trusting, (p < 0.05). Post-intervention comparison between groups revealed significant differences in all aforementioned scales (p < 0.05), except for Not-Worrying. Overall, the CG maintained or decreased their results. The improvements observed in the EG were clinically relevant, with effect sizes ranging from medium to large. Conclusions: Our study results highlight the potential of a psychomotor intervention mediated by creative dance for enhancing interoceptive awareness in community-dwelling older adults, contributing to better emotional regulation and overall well-being. This effective intervention can be a valuable strategy for promoting healthy aging.
Keywords: Aging, Body awareness, emotional regulation, interoception, Music
Received: 22 Oct 2024; Accepted: 06 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Rosado, Motta, Cruz-Ferreira and Pereira. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Catarina Pereira, Departamento de Desporto e Saúde, Escola de Saúde e Desenvolvimento Humano, Universidade de Évora, Évora, Portugal
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