Dance movement therapy as a factor in the quality of life among elderly women

The relevance of studying the psychological mechanisms of aging is associated with growing life expectancy in different countries, which results in deteriorating health. The essential factors for maintaining a high quality of life in elderly people are their physical activity and social well-being. Aim. In this regard, the paper aims to investigate the role of dance classes in successful aging due to the maintenance of physical, social, and cognitive activity in elderly women. Materials and methods. A comparative analysis of the quality of life (the SF-36 questionnaire), emotional intelligence and leisure time was performed between the group of women who regularly attended dance classes (experimental group, EG) (n = 30; 59.9 ± 5.5 years) and women who attended lectures of the People's Faculty in the Novosibirsk State Technical University (control group, CG) (n = 30; 61.6 ± 4.2 years). Results. In the absence of significant intergroup differences in the integral self-assessment of the quality of life, EG was characterized by higher values of “general health”, “social functioning” and “mental health” (SF-36 questionnaire) as compared with CG. This effect was accompanied by a preference for active leisure in contrast to CG, which chose different forms of activity in the country house. When analyzing the components of emotional intelligence in EG, higher values of “positive expressiveness” and “empathy for negative emotions” and lower values of “emotion-based decision making” were found in comparison with CG, which may indicate more effective emotional regulation in EG. Conclusion. Thus, dance classes in elderly women can be considered as movement therapy and activation of cognitive potential. In EG, dance movement therapy contributed to a higher assessment of general health, social functioning, and mental health compared with a relatively passive control group.