Mental Health in Dancers; an Intervention Study

Eating disorder examination questionnaire (EDE-q) by Prof. Fairburn validly assesses the frequency and severity of ED features to produce ED diagnoses according to the DSM-5. It constitutes 22 items scored on a Likert scale from 0-6 and 6 items in which a number of frequency is given for a given eating behavior. The questionnaire is averaged with a global scale and 4 subscales, in which a higher value indicates higher clinical severity. The global score cut-off score indicating probability of an eating disorder in the Norwegian female population is 2.5.

Children and adolescent perfectionism scale (CAPS) is a 22-item measure of perfectionism in children and adolescents, compromising two subscales; self-oriented perfectionism (12 items) and social-oriented perfectionism (10 items). Questions rates from 1 (false - not at all true) to 5 (very true for me); hence a higher value indicates higher level of perfectionism.

Resilience scale for adults (RSA) can be used to assess the presence of protective factors important to regain and maintain mental health. It is a self-report instrument for evaluating six protective dimensions of resilience in adults: (1) Perception of the Self, (2) Planned Future, (3) Social Competence, (4) Family Cohesion, (5) Social Resources, (6) Structured Style. The RSA has 33 items; item-response ranges from one to seven; higher scores reflect higher levels of protective factors of resilience.

Rosenborg Self esteem inventory by Rosenberg, M. (1965). A 10-item scale that measures global self-worth by measuring both positive and negative feelings about the self. The scale is believed to be uni-dimensional. All items are answered using a 4-point Likert scale format ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree.

Body appreciation scale (BAS-2) by Avalos et al 2005. The 10-item Body Appreciation Scale ) assesses individuals' acceptance of, favorable opinions toward, and respect for their body. Each item is scored on a Likert scale from 1-5, and global score is the average score for items 1-10.

Low energy availability in females questionnaire (LEAF) and Low energy availability in males questionnaire (LEAM). The LEAF-Q was developed to screen for LEA in female athletes, and measures occurrence of injuries, gastrointestinal dysfunction (GD) and menstrual irregularities (MI) related to low energy availability. Suggested cut-off's's for GD, MI, and for the total LEAF-Q score are ≥2, ≥4, and ≥8, respectively, with higher scoring indicating more severe clinical condition. The LEAM-q is a male-adapted version of the questionnaire, which is currently under validation.

Hopkins symptom check list (SCL-10) is used to measure psychological distress among adolescents and adults; designed to measure the symptoms of anxiety and depression. Four of the ten questions are about anxiety and six are about depression. All 10 questions have 4 response categories: 'Not at all', 'A little', 'Quite a bit' and 'Extremely'. The responses are summarized across all items and the mean score is used as a measure of psychological distress. An average score ≥1.85 is considered a valid cut-off value for prediction of mental distress.

Age, body weight, height, history with sports, knowledge on nutrition, knowledge on recovery strategies

Individual interviews with dancers and dance teachers on their knowledge and experiences with mental health as a dancer/within dancers, and with their sport and its measures in providing optimal physical and mental health