IADMS Madrid 2001   [back to the Category]

Parenting dancers: A topical analysis of parent – adolescent communication patterns   [read the french version]

Author :   Nicola Conraths, BA

Parenting dancers: A topical analysis of parent – adolescent communication patterns

Nicola Conraths, BA, Eastern Michigan University, Upsilanti, Michigan, USA

The present study offers a quantitative analysis of the communication patterns between female adolescent dancers and their mothers. Young performing artists face many challenges that can impact their physical and mental health. Therefore, the quality of the social communication within the family plays a large role in the success and emotional well being of the adolescent.
For the purposes of this pilot study, the author identified six core and six peripheral communication areas between nine mothers and nine adolescent dancers, using R.J. Butler’s Performing Attitude Profiling Test (1989). The core topics involve emotional and mental concerns relating to dance. The peripheral topics tackle organizational concerns and daily logistics that affect dancers and their families. Although the discussion of core topics is essential for quality family communication, it was often neglected by the respondents in favor of discussing routine tasks.
The results of the survey indicate that respondents have different perceptions of their interactions focused on the topic of dance. By and large, mothers and daughters disagreed with the amount of time they spent discussing core dance topics, while they were in much greater agreement about communication levels involving peripheral issues. The greatest deviation was found in the areas of diet/body concerns and perceptions of financial issues. Further, communication about injuries and peer interactions appeared to be a highly neglected topic among dancers and their families.
As dancers lead drastically different lives than other adolescents, parents should take an active interest in all aspects of the adolescents’ involvement with dance. It is hoped that the dissemination of information about parenting these special groups can be generalized and adapted to other families that have children within the field of performing arts.