Neuropsychological Approach to the Analysis of the Dance-and-Movement Therapy Influence on Children with Deviant Behavior from Dysfunctional Families

Abstract

Background. Deviant behavior in children is a complex problem requiring a comprehensive approach to treatment, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Although specific assessment of neuropsychological predictors of deviance is rarely performed in modern clinical practice and targeted interventions are not developed, examining deviant behavior in children in the context of neurodevelopmental disorders and developing strategies for mediated neuropsychological correction appear to be a promising approach to treating behavioral disorders. Dance movement therapy (DMT) is considered a potentially effective method for improving the emotional state and behavioral regulation of this category of children.

Objective. The study had its purpose to evaluate the effectiveness of DMT in children with deviant behavior from dysfunctional families using neuropsychological analysis.

Study Participants. The study involved 34 children from disadvantaged families, aged 7 to 9 years (M = 8,5 years), who were randomly assigned to 2 groups: the main group — 16 children and the control group — 18 children.

Methods. Before and after the 12-week course of DMT, the neuropsychological diagnostics were performed in the main and control groups: assessment of dynamic, spatial-kinesthetic, visual praxis, auditory-motor reactions using the method of T.V. Akhutina; assessment of impulsivity, physical and verbal aggression, tendency to hasty actions without sufficient consideration of the consequences on the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale for Children (BIS-C). Statistical processing of the obtained data was performed by means of IBM SPSS Statistics 27.01 program using the nonparametric Wilcoxon test and the Mann — Whitney criterion, with the selected level of statistical significance p < 0.05.

Results. When comparing the diagnostic results before and after the DMT course, statistically significant differences were obtained in all the research parameters in the main group (dynamic praxis — 2.06 versus 5.43 points, p = 0.0003; spatial-kinesthetic praxis — 11 versus 14.13 points, p = 0.0003; auditory-motor reactions — 3.94 versus 6.5 points, p = 0.0004; visual praxis — 5.9 versus 8.8 points, p = 0.006). The average score on the BIS-C scale before DMT was 78.5 points, after — 125.6 points (p = 0.02). The results of the primary diagnostics in both groups were statistically comparable, while the control assessment demonstrated a reliable improvement of the indicators in the main group compared to the control one.

Conclusions. Improvement of dynamic, spatial-kinesthetic, and visual praxis as well as the auditory-motor reactions after the DMT course indicates the development of children's abilities for planning, organizing movements, coordination, and information perception. An increase in scores on the BIS-C scale may indicate a decrease in impulsivity and improved behavioral control, which is consistent with the data on the positive impact of DMT on emotional regulation of children.

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