1. Effects of Dance Movement Therapy on Adult Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
- Author
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Mastrominico, Anna, Fuchs, Thomas, Manders, Elizabeth, Steffinger, Lena, Hirjak, Dusan, Sieber, Maik, Thomas, Elisabeth, Holzinger, Anja, Konrad, Ariane, Bopp, Nina, and Koch, Sabine C.
- Subjects
DANCE therapy ,AUTISM spectrum disorders ,RANDOMIZED controlled trials ,EMPATHY ,CONTROL groups ,PATIENTS - Abstract
This study examines the effects of dance movement therapy (DMT) on empathy for adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). DMT based on the embodiment approach offers body-centered interventions, such as mirroring techniques, to address the needs of ASD patients. Accordingly, findings of a feasibility study suggest that DMT may be an effective approach for clients on the ASD spectrum. The present study is a randomized controlled trial that was conducted as a multicenter study within the framework of the EU-funded research project TESIS (Toward an Embodied Science of Intersubjectivity), and employed a two-factorial between-subject design. The treatment group (
n = 35) participated in a 10-week manualized DMT intervention, whereas the control group (n = 22) received treatment only after a waiting period. Empathy, measured with theCognitive and Emotional Empathy Questionnaire (CEEQ ), was the main variable of interest, analyzed by a repeated measures analysis of variance. In order to also include incomplete data cases, we used the expectation-maximization algorithm for missing data estimation. Results suggest no significant changes in overall empathy between groups. We discuss the results and limitations, as well as future research options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2018
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