Li Xiaolin, Yang Qian, Long Jiayi, Zhou Linghui, Lu Chunxia, Zhou Zhenqian, Zeng Ming, Dong Weixin
Department of Human Movement Science, Hunan Normal University, 36 Lushan Road, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Department of Physical Education, Hunan Agricultural University, 1 Nongda Road, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jan 25;15(1):3268. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-87954-0.
Loneliness and low self-esteem are among the more prominent mental health problems among left-behind children, but most of the current research stays in cross-sectional surveys, with fewer studies proposing specific solutions. In addition, although the effective impact of dance interventions on loneliness and self-esteem has been demonstrated, the impact in the group of left-behind children remains under-explored. Therefore, this study validated the effectiveness of a dance intervention on loneliness and self-esteem in left-behind children through a 16-week randomised controlled trial. Stratified sampling was used to select one primary school from each of the 14 cities in Hunan Province, with a maximum of 100 children recruited from each primary school. Independent researchers used SPSS 29.0 to randomly assign the eligible 1270 participants to the Experimental group (n = 635) and Control group (n = 635) in a 1:1 ratio. The Experimental group performed 45 min of moderate-intensity dance training five times a week. The Control group maintained their original living conditions. Participants were measured three times using the Children's Loneliness Scale and Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale: baseline (T0), after 8 weeks (T1), and post-intervention (16 weeks, T2). Linear mixed-effects models for repeated measures were used to test the effects of time, group and time × group interactions. (a) The average age of the 1261 participants was 10 years (SD = 3.52), with high levels of loneliness (42.48 ± 12.04) and low levels of self-esteem (26.75 ± 6.39). (b) There was a significant negative correlation between loneliness and self-esteem among the LBC (p < 0.001, r = - 0.390). (c) After the dance intervention, the LBC's loneliness significantly decreased [F (2, 1258) = 74.516, η = 0.106, p < 0.001] and their self-esteem significantly increased [F (2, 1258) = 73.64, η = 0.104, p < 0.001]. A 16-week dance intervention is an effective strategy to improve loneliness and self-esteem in LBC. Given the acceptability and practicality of the dance intervention, it could be included in a health programme to improve loneliness and self-esteem in LBC.
孤独感和自卑是留守儿童中较为突出的心理健康问题，但目前大多数研究停留在横断面调查，提出具体解决方案的研究较少。此外，尽管舞蹈干预对孤独感和自尊的有效影响已得到证实，但在留守儿童群体中的影响仍未得到充分探索。因此，本研究通过一项为期16周的随机对照试验，验证了舞蹈干预对留守儿童孤独感和自尊的有效性。采用分层抽样从湖南省14个城市各选取一所小学，每所小学最多招募100名儿童。独立研究人员使用SPSS 29.0将符合条件的1270名参与者按1:1的比例随机分配到实验组（n = 635）和对照组（n = 635）。实验组每周进行5次45分钟的中等强度舞蹈训练。对照组维持其原来的生活状况。使用儿童孤独感量表和罗森伯格自尊量表对参与者进行三次测量：基线（T0）、8周后（T1）和干预后（16周，T2）。采用重复测量的线性混合效应模型来检验时间、组间以及时间×组间交互作用的影响。（a）1261名参与者的平均年龄为10岁（标准差 = 3.52），孤独感水平较高（42.48±12.04），自尊水平较低（26.75±6.39）。（b）留守儿童的孤独感与自尊之间存在显著负相关（p < 0.001，r = - 0.390）。（c）舞蹈干预后，留守儿童的孤独感显著降低[F（2, 1258）= 74.516，η = 0.106，p < 0.001]，自尊显著提高[F（2, 1258）= 73.64，η = 0.104，p < 0.001]。为期16周的舞蹈干预是改善留守儿童孤独感和自尊的有效策略。鉴于舞蹈干预的可接受性和实用性，它可以纳入一项健康计划，以改善留守儿童的孤独感和自尊。
