Columbia College Chicago Digital Commons @ Columbia College Chicago Creative Arts Therapies Theses Thesis & Capstone Collection 12-2013 Unfolding Self-Esteem Adolescent Girls' Self- Esteem and the Dance/Movement Therapy Intervention of Improvisation and Planned Movement Formation: A Pilot Study Mallory Ingram Follow this and additional works at:http://digitalcommons.colum.edu/theses_dmt Part of theDance Commons,Dance Movement Therapy Commons,Performance Studies Commons, and theSocial and Behavioral Sciences Commons This work is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License. Recommended Citation Ingram, Mallory, "Unfolding Self-Esteem Adolescent Girls' Self-Esteem and the Dance/Movement Therapy Intervention of Improvisation and Planned Movement Formation: A Pilot Study" (2013).Creative Arts Therapies Theses.Paper 47. This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Thesis & Capstone Collection at Digital Commons @ Columbia College Chicago. It has been accepted for inclusion in Creative Arts Therapies Theses by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Columbia College Chicago. Unfolding Self-Esteem Adolescent Girls’ Self-Esteem and the Dance/Movement Therapy Intervention of Improvisation and Planned Movement Formation: A Pilot Study Mallory Ingram Thesis submitted to the faculty of Columbia College Chicago in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Master of Arts in Department of Creative Arts Therapies Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling Department December 2013 Committee: Susan Imus, MA, BC-DMT, LCPC, GL-CMA Chair, Department of Creative Arts Therapies Laura Downey, MA, BC-DMT, LPC, GL-CMA Research Coordinator & Thesis Advisor Andrea Brown, MA, BC-DMT, LCPC, NCC Reader Abstract The purpose of this mixed methods single-subject case study pilot was to examine the impact that the dance/movement therapy intervention of improvisation and planned movement formation, created by dance/movement therapy pioneer Trudi Schoop, (Levy, 2005) can have on self-esteem. The research question was: How is adolescent girls’ self-esteem affected by the dance/movement therapy intervention of improvisation and planned movement formation? The hypothesis stated: If the dance/movement therapy intervention of improvisation and planned movement formation is utilized in dance/movement therapy sessions, then adolescent girls’ self- esteem will increase. The study occurred at a private high school with four participants for six sessions. Pre and post-test quantitative measures included the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and were analyzed using measures of central tendency due to the small pilot sample size. Qualitative data included video recorded movement responses to participants’ movement formations that were analyzed using the arts based method of creative synthesis via dance making. The creative synthesis was derived from the movement responses and the therapist/researcher’s kinesthetic responses during session. Results showed that three out of four participants’ self-esteem increased indicating support for the hypothesis. Findings suggested that the use of the dance/movement therapy intervention of improvisation and planned movement formation along with the creation of movement responses had a positive impact on self-esteem. Furthermore, it was the participants’ incorporation of salient movement qualities from the movement responses into their own planned movement formations that had the greatest impact on self-esteem. Limitations to the pilot study and recommendations for future research are discussed.   i Acknowledgments I extend my gratitude to all those who helped and supported me through this process. I would like to thank the participants and the school administration at the site for making this study possible. I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to my thesis advisor, Laura Downey, your strength and support never waivered, even when it might have within myself. Your guidance was truly unprecedented and dedication impeccable. Thank you for being my co- journeyer. Next, I would like to thank my supervisor at my internship for her caring and empathic supervision as well as her strong belief in me that provided the support I needed to complete my study. I am honored and incredibly grateful to my reader, Andrea Brown. Your knowledge, experience, and expertise as a dance/movement therapist and with the adolescent population inspire me to pursue a dedicated career in the field. Thank you for being the bookends to my journey here at Columbia. I also want to thank my editors and writing support staff, Sondra Malling and Eva Glaser, for your sophistication and knowledge throughout my process. Without hesitation, I also thank my loving and loyal family and closest friends. Your insurmountable support and belief in my success not only as a dance/movement therapist but as a person, carries me through each day. To my sister, my soul sister, you are my muse for becoming a therapist and for choosing this topic. Your beauty and strength despite adversity inspire me every moment. Last but never least, I want to thank my amazing and supportive ‘partner in crime’ for never letting go of my hand through the roller coaster that was graduate school, thesis, and will forever be life.   ii Table of Contents Chapter I: Introduction ……………………………………………………………………........... 1 Motivation for the Study ………………………………………………………………… 4 Purpose of the Study …………………………………………………………………….. 5 Clinical Theoretical Approach …………………………………………………………... 5 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………. 7 Chapter II: Literature Review …………………………………………………………………… 9 Self-Esteem and Mental Health …………………………………………………………. 9 Culture and Gender and Self-Esteem …………………………………………………... 11 Body Image and Self-Esteem …………………………………………………………... 17 Dance/Movement and Self-Esteem …………………………………………………….. 19 Dance/Movement Therapy and Self-Esteem …………………………………………... 23 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………... 25 Chapter III: Methods …………………………………………………………………………… 27 Methodology …………………………………………………………………………… 27 Participants and Setting ………………………………………………………………… 29 Recruitment …………………………………………………………………………….. 29 Assessment Tool ……………………………………………………………………….. 30 Intervention …………………………………………………………………………….. 31 Procedure ………………………………………………………………………………. 33 Data Collection ………………………………………………………………………… 35 Data Analysis …………………………………………………………………………... 37 Validation Strategies …………………………………………………………………… 39   iii Chapter IV: Results …………………………………………………………………………….. 41 Quantitative Data Results ……………………………………………………………… 41 Qualitative Data Results ……………………………………………………………….. 44 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………... 51 Chapter V: Discussion …………………………………………………………………………. 52 Implications of the Intervention and Movement Response ……………………………. 52 Cultural Implications …………………………………………………………………... 61 Unexpected Findings and Unique Experiences ………………………………………... 64 Validation Strategies …………………………………………………………………… 66 Limitations ………………………………………………………………………........... 67 Future Implications …………………………………………………………………….. 68 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………... 69 References ……………………………………………………………………………………… 70 Appendices Appendix A: Definition of Terms ……………………………………………………… 77 Appendix B: Informed Consent/Assent Form …………………………………………. 81 Appendix C: Rosenberg Self-Esteem Assessment …………………………………….. 85 Appendix D: Program Description from Unfolding Self-Esteem ……………………… 86   iv Chapter I: Introduction It is widely accepted that adolescence is the transitional period between childhood and adulthood that is often characterized as time of vulnerability and self-discovery (Frinkenauer, Engles, & Meekums, 2002; Gurian, 2012; Santrock, 2011). During this cognitive and socio- emotional stage, adolescent’s development of self is crucial (Sullivan, 2004). This concept of self is known as self-esteem. Self-esteem has an impact on mental health and wellbeing. Research has shown that high self-esteem yields a healthy mental state including positive changes such as but not limited to: increased confidence and body satisfaction (Bannon, 1994; Corteville, 2009; Dorak, 2011; Meyer-Gonzalez, 2000; Vesile & Mustafa, 2010), increased ability to cope with stress and depressive symptoms (De Beer, 1992; Eisenbarth, 2012; Myers, Willse, & Krantz, 2011), more effective communication skills, and the ability to maintain meaningful interpersonal relationships (Bannon, 1994; Coretville, 2009; Dorak, 2001; Krantz, 1999). On the contrary, low self-esteem can cause negative mental health including a lack of self-confidence, difficulty in maintaining meaningful relationships (Bannon, 1994; Coretville, 2009; Dorak, 2001; Krantz, 1999), susceptibility to deviant and anti-social behavior (Myers, Willse, & Villalba, 2011), depression and suicide (Rouse, 2010), and body dissatisfaction (Bettle et, al, 2001; Dorak, 2001; Krantz, 1999). Thus, having low self-esteem can be problematic resulting in adverse circumstances affecting an individuals overall sense of wellbeing. According to Pickhardt (2010), self-esteem is a psychological term that is used to identify one’s evaluation of self and is inherent in nature. Additionally, the National Association for Self- Esteem (2010), stated that self-esteem incorporates an overarching evaluation of self, based on one’s measure of self-worth and self-competence. Self-worth involves feeling satisfied and   1 establishing a sense of integrity based on the ability to meet goals and values while self- competence refers to the confidence one possesses in relation to making decisions and communicating ideas (National Association of Self-esteem, 2010). The abstract concept of self-esteem and the level of self-worth and self-competence are related to Sanstrock’s (2011) concept of adolescent egocentrism. According to Sanstrock, adolescent egocentrism is “the heightened self-consciousness of adolescents” (p.371) that may leave adolescents feeling vulnerable. Within this concept, two salient components come into play: the imaginary audience or the intrinsic belief that others are as observant of their behavior and appearance as they are, and the personal fable or belief that adolescents are so unique in nature no one can understand them (Sanstrock). Due to adolescents’ heightened awareness of others and distorted reality of self, vulnerability increases effecting an overall evaluation of self based on both self-worth and self-competence. Rosenberg, Schooler, Schoenbach, and Rosenberg (1995) stated that there are two types of self-esteem: global self-esteem and specific self-esteem. Global self-esteem relates to overall mental wellbeing encompassing both positive and negative beliefs about the self, whereas specific self-esteem relates more so to behavior and accomplishments in specific roles. Both types of self-esteem relate to an aspect of both self-worth and self-competence, however, for this study the focus is on global self-esteem in order to assess the comprehensive wellbeing of an individual rather than one specific role or behavior. Thus, for this study self-esteem is defined as: an overarching evaluation of self, based on both self-worth and self-competence, in relation to the vulnerability, heightened awareness of others, and distorted beliefs of self that evolve during adolescence (National Association of Self-esteem, 2010; Rosenberg et al., 1995; Sanstrock, 2011).   2 Sullivan (2004) identified different experiences for males and females during this vulnerable time of adolescence. Gurian (2012) expanded this gender disparity by describing the influence of media, culture, and society coupled with a heightened sense of self-consciousness that places girls at a higher risk to feel the affects of the imaginary audience. Due to the societal pressure on women to appear and behave a particular way, adolescent girls may have a harder time defining a positive sense of self-worth and self-competence, thus affecting self-esteem (Gurian, 2012; Zeiders, Umana-Taylor, & Derlan, 2012). Bolognini, Plancherel, Bettschart, and Halfon (1996) found that girls tend to have a lower global self-esteem than their male counterparts due to a greater prevalence of depressive symptoms during adolescence. According to Zeiders, Umana-Taylor, and Derlan (2012), after puberty adolescent girls often face more pressure from society to conform to gender roles which often includes being less confident and assertive, negatively affecting self-esteem and increasing potential depressive symptomology. More specifically, they found that Latina adolescent girls are at the greatest risk for developing depressive symptoms due to culturally instated rigid gender roles and potential discrimination faced during adolescence, which negatively affected self- esteem (Zeiders, Umana-Taylor, & Derlan, 2012). In short, adolescent girls undergo a different psychological experience than their male counterparts that may in fact negatively impact self- esteem. Although gender seems to play a role in level of self-esteem, early versus late adolescence is a factor on the self-esteem trajectory. Pickhardt (2010) outlined two periods in adolescence when self-esteem declines: early adolescence between 9-13 years old, and late adolescence between 18-23. He found the importance of these periods related to redefining identity such as separation from childhood and transition into adulthood (Pickhardt, 2010). Some   3 studies are based on cross-sectional data of self-esteem trajectories based on gender. For example, Block and Robins (1993) found that over an eight-year period, from early to late adolescence, male self-esteem increased while females decreased. However, other studies challenged this view stating that both male and female self-esteem decreased (Baldwin & Hoffman, 2002) while another found they both increased (Scheier et al., 2000) at a similar rate over the course of adolescence. However, it is important to note that none of these studies found female self-esteem to increase independently from males. Despite inconclusive findings, it is clear that self-esteem fluctuates over the course of adolescence increasing potential periods of vulnerability. Adolescence is a time of vulnerability and emotional fluctuation especially for girls due to the susceptibility of societies instated gender roles and the prevalence of depressive symptomology that often results in low self-esteem. Because of this gender disparity, I deemed it essential to solely focus on adolescent girls’ self-esteem. Aligning with the focus on gender and with my own theoretical perspective, this study is presented through a feminist theoretical framework. A feminist theoretical framework focuses on the condition of women’s experiences in society, aiming to empower and speak against subordination by granting a voice to the unique perspective and interplay of society on women’s lives (Brayton, 1997). Motivation for the Study As a woman who underwent a turbulent adolescence, I brought my own unique perspective as researcher and therapist to the study, which is an important aspect of the feminist theoretical framework (Stewart, 1994). Moreover, a feminist theoretical framework aims to avoid bias but instead respect and highlight differences of the individual(s) while accounting for the impact gender plays on shaping the experience of the female participants (Luther, 1991; Steward,   4