Effects of Ganggangsullae on Self-Esteem in Severe-to-Profound Hearing Impaired Adolescents

Abstract

Objective: Dance can achieve harmonious integration in mentally and physically while expressing oneself through creative and improvised artistic movements. For disabilities, dance is an important incentive to think positive and appreciate their value. The study aims to investigate the effect of dance rehabilitation using the dancing steps of Ganggangsullae, which develops balance, unity, sociality, and creativity for hearing impaired adolescents, on their self-esteem. Methods: 6 hearing impaired girls aging 11.8 to 17.6 years (14.7 ± 2.07) participated. Two of them had no dance class experiences, other two experiences, and the other two had aerobics exercise experiences. Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) was used for self-esteem. These tools were investigated at 8-week pre-/post-Ganggangsullae activity, and then the mean scores of respective responses were compared. Results: The mean scores of RSES improved from 2.87 ± 0.46 to 3.27 ± 0.46. Conclusion: The dancing steps of Ganggangsullae improved the self-esteem of the hearing impaired.