Dance and Psychological Health: Effect of Dance Participation on Social Development

Abstract

Dance is listed among the most common physical activities that have been integrated into almost all cultures and societies worldwide. The art of dancing engages an individual’s cognitive, social, and physical facets, all of which are integral components of psychological health and wellbeing. The social element of dance has been integrated into the modern health sector and other social settings to influence the relationship between psychological health and wellbeing and social support-related challenges. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate whether engaging in dance has an impact on the social dimension of psychological health and well-being. The initial hypothesis of the study, which was based on a literature review, was that participating in dance positively influences the social dimension of psychological well-being. An online literature review search that was conducted on the Google Scholar database for research published between 2013 and 2023 yielded 169 results from which 20 most recent studies between 2019-2023 were selected for inclusion in the final analysis. Dance promotes social wellness regardless of the settings in which it is performed by influencing the cognitive and behavioral processes regulating social relations among humans. Thus, dance is an effective vehicle for social support and a vital network for healthy social connections. Recent dance-based trends and dance practice characteristics could potentially serve as the new modes of social connections to promote social welfare.