ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Children and Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1564558
The Effect of Latin Dance on Social Physique Anxiety in Middle School Girls: A Pilot Study
Provisionally accepted
- 1School of Physical Education, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212100, China
- 2Putra Malaysia University, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
- 3Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China
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Social physique anxiety (SPA) is a common psychological issue among adolescents, particularly among female high school students, and it can significantly affect their self-esteem and social interactions. SPA is characterized by an individual's fear of negative evaluation based on their physical appearance, which is especially prevalent during adolescence when body image concerns are heightened. The present pilot study aimed to investigate the effects of a 4-week Latin dance intervention on SPA in 40 female middle school students. The participants were randomly divided into an experimental group (n = 20) and a control group (n = 20). The experimental group engaged in Latin dance training, consisting of two 40-minute sessions per week, while the control group participated in traditional physical education classes focused on basketball. SPA was assessed using the Social Physique Anxiety Scale (SPAS) before and after the intervention, measuring three dimensions: Negative Evaluation (NE), Self-performance (SP), and Social Comparison (SC). The results indicated that the Latin dance intervention significantly reduced SPA across all three dimensions, with the most notable improvements in NE and SP (p < 0.05). The experimental group showed more significant reductions in SPA compared to the control group (p = 0.004). These findings suggest that Latin dance can be an effective intervention for reducing SPA in adolescents. This study contributes to the growing body of research on the mental health benefits of dance and provides valuable insights for integrating physical activity into psychological interventions aimed at improving adolescent well-being.
Keywords: Latin dance1, social physique anxiety2, adolescents3, intervention4, mental health5
Received: 25 Feb 2025; Accepted: 22 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Liu, Xiaozhuo, Soh, Lu and Li. 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:
Xutao Liu, School of Physical Education, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212100, China
Rongzhi Li, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, 200072, Shanghai Municipality, China
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