| Abstract [eng] |
Thesis title. Adolescents' Social Expression Through Dance Movement Therapy. Vesta Petrauskaitė, Vilnius, Vilnius University, 2024. Objective. Adolescents' inability to overcome emerging challenges leads to interpersonal relationship problems in families and schools, causing health problems, various personality pathologies etc. Psychologists, psychotherapists, educators, sociologists, and parents are looking for ways and methods to help teenagers to overcome the difficulties they encounter in these situations. The problem arises that traditional education and therapy methods do not adequately address the needs and their abilities. Teenagers lack opportunities to express themselves, cope with stress, and to better understand their feelings and relationships with others. To investigate dance movement therapy potential in adolescents’ social expression and to evaluate the effectiveness of this therapy method. Participants. Individuals that belong to late adolescence age (15-18 years), living in Vilnius (5 participants) or Panevėžys city (12 participants). Methods. For the theoretical research part the literature analysis method was applied. For the empirical part of the study a quantitative method was used. To measure the effect and impact assessment scales were used for self-respect and trust and questionnaire for relationship with parents moreover classroom role-playing game questionnaire for relationship with peers. Results. After evaluating the research results before and after DMT implementation, it was found that there were no longer any participants with low self-esteem. DMT had a positive impact on the participants' self-repect. It was found that after DMT implementation, the participants' relationships with their parents improved (p<0.05). However, weak negative correlations between the participants' relationships with parents and peers (r= -0.224) suggests that as the adolescent's relationship with peers strengthens, the relationship with parents worsens. Dance movement therapy had an impact on the development of the participants' social relationships. A positive strong connection (r = 0.915) was found between the participants' self- esteem, confidence, and relationships with peers. Dance movement therapy, which focuses on the participants' psycho-emotional health, is a safe tool that strengthens self-confidence and unconditional acceptance of oneself and others. Keywords. Adolescence, social expression, confidence, self-esteem, relationships with parents, relationships with friends, dance movement therapy, quantitative research. |
