The Effect of Applied Dance Therapy on Life Satisfaction and Fear of Happiness Among Turkish Board High School Students.

Background/objectives: In this study, we aimed to examine the effect of a 12-week dance (Zumba) performance on the fear of happiness and life satisfaction perceptions of high school students studying at boarding school.

Methods: The sample group of this study consisted of high school students staying in the school dormitory in the 2022-2023 academic year. A total of 82 students between the ages of 15 and 17, selected by the convenience sampling method, participated in the study, and 41 of the students were selected as the experimental group and 41 as the control group. The Fear of Happiness Scale and Satisfaction with Life Scale were used in the study. The measurement tools were administered as a pre-test one week before the dance program started and as a post-test one week after the end of the program. Two-way ANOVA for mixed measures was applied to determine whether the fear of happiness and life satisfaction pre-test scores were statistically significantly different between the experimental and control groups and to compare the pre-test and post-test difference scores.

Results: As a result of the research, it was concluded that the fear of happiness of the students who participated in the dance activity decreased, and their life satisfaction levels increased. These findings emphasize that dance can be an important resource that can increase the psychological well-being of young people.

Conclusions: As a result, it can be said that the 12-week dance activity positively affected students' fear of happiness and life satisfaction perceptions.