Dance Experiences Associated with Body-Image and Personality among College Students: A Comparison of Dancers and Nondancers

Abstract

This study assessed associations among measures of body-image and locus of control for 32 college students in dance classes and 26 students enrolled in a personal health class over a 16-wk. semester. Students took the Winstead and Cash 54-item short-form Body Self-relations Questionnaire and the Adult Nowicki-Strickland Internal-External Control Scale. For locus of control there was a statistically significant main effect for time. Over-all, subjects scored as more internally oriented from pretest to posttest. However, there was a significant interaction; dancers scored more internally on locus of control at pretest than nondancers, but at posttest there were no significant differences between groups. For the Fitness Evaluation subscale of body-image there was a statistically significant interaction. Dancers had lower Fitness Evaluation scores at pretest than the nondancers but at posttest there were no significant differences between the groups. For Fitness Orientation there was a significant main effect for time. Subjects at pretest had higher Fitness Orientation scores than at posttest. For the Health Evaluation subscale of body-image there was a significant main effect for time. Over-all, subjects at pretest had higher Health Evaluation scores than at post-test.