Age- and Gender-Related Psychological Characteristics of Adolescent Ballet Dancers

Abstract

Ballet school students (n = 90) aged 11–17 years, and nondancing adolescents (n = 156) aged 13–17 completed the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI). Significant differences between female dancers and controls were seen in five subscales, with higher scores for the dancers (‘Drive for thinness’, ‘Bulimia’, ‘Interpersonal distrust’, ‘Ineffectiveness’ and ‘Perfectionism’). Their highest scores on most subscales were for the 16-year-olds. The only difference between male dancers and controls was seen for Ineffectiveness. Our data suggest important psychological inconsistency in the course of the adolescence of female ballet dancers, whilst the psychological profile of male ballet dancers appeared quite similar to that of nondancing adolescents.

Eating disorders in ballet dancing students: Problems and risk factors

“…This higher risk has been attributed mainly to the high prevalence in young ballet students of personality traits such as drive for thinness and perfectionism (Garner et al, 1987;Neumärker, Bettle, Neumärker, & Bettle, 2000;Thomas, Keel, & Heatherton, 2005). These students also present other risk factors characteristic of 'aesthetic sports' (Sundgot-Borgen, 2004) such as intense physical exercise and very thin body shape model.…”

Conformidad con roles femeninos y conductas alimentarias inadecuadas en estudiantes de danza [Conformity to the feminine norms and inadequate eating behaviors in female dance students]

“…Los resultados encontrados discrepan con nuestra hipótesis de partida y también con la mayor parte de la evidencia científi ca actual, que pone de manifi esto que las estudiantes de danza presentan mayor insatisfacción corporal y mayor riesgo de desarrollar sintomatología relacionada con los TCA en comparación con otras muestras de no estudiantes de danza (Abraham, 1996a;Bettle et al, 1998;Garner y Garfi nkel, 1980;Garner et al, 1987;Neumärker et al, 2000;Ravaldi et al, 2003;Ringham et al, 2006;Szmukler et al, 1985). Por lo tanto, cabe plantear porqué nuestra muestra de estudiantes de danza está más satisfecha con su cuerpo y peso, y presenta con menor frecuencia conductas alimentarias inadecuadas en comparación con las estudiantes universitarias.…”

Relevé: An at-home ballet self-learning interactive system

“…The starting age for learning professional ballet dancing is comparatively strict in this area; usually, adolescents start practicing technical ballet posture around 10, often becoming skillful at the age of 15-18 [8]. For kids, pre-ballet classes are often offered to dancers between the ages of 4 and 8 [9].…”

“…For kids, pre-ballet classes are often offered to dancers between the ages of 4 and 8 [9]. Besides the constraint of age, users' gender, figure, even religion also have been considered based on the relatively strict regulations at different dancing studios [8].…”