ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
This article is part of the Research TopicDance, Brain, and Cognition: Advancing Understanding Through Movement ScienceView all 3 articles
The Mechanism of Square Dancing on Subjective Well-Being among Middle-Aged and Older Women in China: Mediating Role of Social Connectedness and Moderating Role of Exercise Self-Efficacy
Provisionally accepted
- 1College of Physical Education, Zhangjiakou University, Zhangjiakou, China
- 2Hebei University of Engineering, Handan, China
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Objective: This study investigates how participation in square dancing influences subjective well-being among middle-aged and older women, focusing on the mediating role of social connectedness and the moderating role of exercise self-efficacy. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 365 middle-aged and older women engaged in square dancing was conducted. Validated questionnaires were used to assess square dancing participation, social connectedness, exercise self-efficacy, and subjective well-being. Structural equation modeling and moderated mediation analyses were employed to test the hypothesized model. Results: Participation in square dancing was positively associated with the subjective well-being of middle-aged and older women (β = 0.252, p<0.001), and this association was partially mediated by social connectedness (β = 0.175, p<0.001, 40.98% of the total effect). Moreover, exercise self-efficacy moderated both the link between square dancing and social connectedness (β = 0.182, p < 0.001) and the direct link between square dancing and subjective well-being (β = 0.122, p < 0.001), indicating a dual moderating role. Conclusion: Middle-aged and older women who participate in square dancing not only directly enhance their subjective well-being but also indirectly improve it by strengthening their sense of social connectedness. Furthermore, individuals with higher levels of exercise self-efficacy experience more pronounced gains in social connectedness and subjective well-being through square dancing activities.
Keywords: Square dancing, Subjective well-being, social connectedness, exercise self-efficacy, Middle-aged and older women
Received: 08 Sep 2025; Accepted: 14 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Wu, Xi and Xia. 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: Hongtao Xia, hebeuxia@163.com
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