Effect of zumba: The psychosocial implications of a culturally tailored physical activity on Latina women's self-esteem

Numerous studies have shown that physical activity can affect self-esteem and improve health outcomes. This study was designed to determine if Zumba, a psychosocial culturally tailored aerobic dancing activity, improves Latina women's self-esteem.

Methods: A pre-experimental, pretest-posttest design was used to evaluate the impact of Zumba on participants' self-esteem. A purposive sample of 43 Spanish-speaking Latinas residing in Santa Clara County California (mean age = 36) who reported low self-esteem and/or self-image, and/or reported a sedentary lifestyle or engaged in less than 30 minutes of physical activity per week were recruited. Participants attended 60 minute Zumba sessions for 16 weeks at a CBO location. The 1965 Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (SES) was used to evaluate self-esteem before and after the 16 week Zumba intervention.

Results: The Rosenberg SES showed a statistically significant (p < .001) increase in participants' mean self-esteem score from pre-test to post-test at 16 weeks. The majority of women (93%) attended more than the 16 minimum required Zumba sessions. When participants were asked ”Why Zumba keeps them engaged in physical activity?”, six self-esteem related themes emerged 1) Weight loss and physical appearance, 2) effect on overall health, 3) Cultural relevance, 4) Improved dance skills, 5) Convenient location, and 6) Autonomy.

Conclusion: Results from this psychosocial study indicate that availability of a culturally tailored community-based physical activity intervention for low-income Latinas can significantly increase self-esteem. However, sustaining participants' engagement in routine physical activity will require ongoing support from service providers and environmental reinforcement (i.e. health campaigns, etc).