Psychophysiological effects of dance/movement therapy on anxiety reduction in adolescents in juvenile detention centers: dopamine and thermoregulatory responses in a controlled study

BACKGROUND: Anxiety among adolescents has increased globally during the COVID-19 pandemic. Adolescents in juvenile detention centers (JDCs) may be particularly vulnerable due to restricted liberty and social isolation. Movement-based interventions such as Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) have been studied as approaches to support emotional regulation. This exploratory study investigated the psychophysiological effects of a structured DMT intervention on anxiety reduction among adolescents in JDCs, focusing on anxiety-related changes in dopamine (DA) levels and body temperature. METHODS: This quasi-experimental study included 55 female adolescents from a single juvenile detention center. Participants were allocated to either a non-DMT control group (n = 30, 16.17 ± 1.73 years), which maintained their usual institutional routine throughout the 8-week study period, or a DMT group (n = 25, 16.23 ± 1.68 years) that completed 24 DMT sessions over the same period. Anxiety and physiological measures were assessed before and after the intervention. Anxiety was measured using the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Physiological measures included mean body temperature (mTb), calculated from tympanic (core) and skin temperature measurements, and plasma DA levels measured using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). RESULTS: Following the intervention, the DMT group showed a significant reduction in BAI scores (-16%, p < 0.001), along with significant increases in mTb (0.11 ± 0.07 °C, p < 0.001) and DA levels (+ 30%, p < 0.001). BAI scores were negatively correlated with mTb and DA levels, whereas mTb was positively correlated with DA levels. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides preliminary evidence that DMT may help alleviate anxiety and support psychophysiological regulation among adolescents in JDCs. However, the exploratory design, single-center setting, and all-female sample may limit generalizability. Future multi-center studies with more diverse samples are needed to confirm these findings and clarify the underlying mechanisms.