Preschooler’s executive and socio-emotional functioning: effects of two intervention programs- Psychomotor therapy and Creative Dance.

Abstract

Background The preschool years represent a critical time period for the develop- ment of children’s executive functioning and socio-emotional compe- tences [1] and therefore it is the ideal period for the stimulation of these competencies [2, 3]. Interventions with children in preschool age should privilege spontaneity, creativity and play as a method of learning and stimulation [4, 5]. Psychomotor therapy and Creative Dance are two therapeutic approaches based on these principles [5, 6]. However, to date, no research has been done comparing the ef- fects of Psychomotor therapy and Creative Dance. Objective The aim of this study was to examine the feasibility and the impact of two intervention programs, Psychomotor therapy versus Creative Dance, on the executive and socio-emotional functioning of pre- schoolers. Methods Fifty preschool children (M = 4.04 years; SD = 0.67) were divided into two intervention groups and a control group. An experimental group participated in 24 Psychomotor therapy sessions, mainly involving sensorimotor activities and games with rules. The other experimental group participated in 24 Creative Dance sessions. The control group maintained daily life activities. Cold executive functions, hot execu- tive functions, externalized and internalized behaviours and aggres- siveness were evaluated. Results The intervention programs were well tolerated by pre-school aged children. No significant differences were found in terms of intra- and inter-observer comparisons, except in the control group (p < 0.05). Cold executive functions were negatively correlated to reactive ag- gressiveness (r = -0.408, p = 0.003).Conclusions The results suggest that both programs were feasible and well toler- ated in this age group, but their benefits were not evident. Increased working memory was associated with decreased levels of reactive aggression. This study alerts to the need for further research focused on pre-schoolers’ executive and socio-emotional functioning, particu- larly on the effects of interventions programs.