The Effects of Multicultural Dance on Self-Determination of Adults with Intellectual Disabilities

ABSTRACT THE EFFECTS OF MULTICULTURAL DANCE ON SELF-DETERMINATION OF ADULTS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES by © Christie L. Thurman 2010 Master of Arts in Kinesiology California State University, Chico Spring 2010 The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a multicultural dance program on the self-determination of Hispanic/Latino adults with intellectual disabilities. An alternating treatments design was employed in this study; an inventory that examined six subcategories of self-determination measured before, midway, and after the program. The DANCE program was designed to foster self-determination through emphasis on cultural tailoring to increase the subcategory of relatedness. The results did not show a change in overall self-determination scores. However, the category of relatedness decreased while participants participated in the non-Hispanic/Latino dance portion, followed by a subsequent increase during the Hispanic/Latino portion of the program. The conclusion was that relatedness can be changed through a culturally tailored dance program, but further research is needed to increase self-determination.