The Influence of Partnership Dance for Adult Romantic Couples on Intimacy, Trust, and Attachment Style

Romantic relationship research has focused on various characteristics of individual and partner dynamics including intimacy and trust which are important aspects of relationship success. High levels of intimacy in relationships is associated with commitment, passion, psychosocial identity, and lower self-consciousness. Similarly, trust involves the perception of stability and consistency in partner behavior that is in accordance with one’s best interests. Another aspect of romantic relationships that has been heavily researched is attachment style which has been shown to strongly influence how partners behave in relationships. Couples that face relationship challenges have been found to benefit from dance and movement therapy. Current research does not investigate the interactions of all of these facets of relationships and how they might be improved. Therefore, the present study strives to explore how established research on trust, intimacy, and attachment style can be used to improve relationships in the context of dance and movement. The experimental group consisted of 7 couples who participated in partnership dance lessons over the course of one month. The control group consisted of 9 couples who did not participate in the classes. We predicted that partnership dance classes would increase intimacy and trust in couples. We also investigated how attachment style might be implicated in this change. Results show a significant increase in intimacy for participants in the experimental group who participated in partnership dance classes. There was no significant increase in trust. While some participants did change attachment style throughout the study, the majority of participants retained their attachment style from the beginning of the study. Future research should focus on what types of dance are most beneficial for romantic couples, coding participant emotions during the dance class, and how the approach to teaching impacts participants’ experience.