Dance in prisons: A systematic review and narrative synthesis.

The global prison population has grown by a total of 27 % since year 2000. Rehabilitation programs in prisons are based on ‘Risk Needs Responsivity Model’, however there is a need to avoid overintellectualized models of therapy. There is growing interest in creative arts therapies in forensic care, however, literature around dance and dance movement therapy (DMT) remains scarce. This systematic review aims to assess the application of dance and DMT in prisons and the state of research. Data was collected on therapeutic outcomes, target population, intervention dosage and outcome measurements. Due to the heterogeneous studies, a narrative synthesis was completed, and clusters were classified using the Dunphy Outcomes Framework. Six studies were included, revealing dance and DMT in prisons have an extensive range of effects on across the following domains of the DOF: emotional, social, physical, cultural, cognitive and integration. The studies remained at a low evidence level with just two controlled trials. The review highlights the need for more empirical research. Results so far are promising and suggest that dance and DMT can have beneficial effects in forensic settings. • This article reviews literature on dance therapy and dance in prisons. • Prison arts programs foster prosocial behaviour and social connections. • Dance therapy and dance reduce aggression and support rehabilitation in prisons. • Dance therapy addresses criminogenic needs using risk needs responsivity model. • This review indicates dance therapy and dance have good effects on incarceration.