Selfconcept of abused migrant women victims of sexist violence: An educational proposal to help recover emotional balance through dance

Abstract

This study analyzes the self-concept of a group of abused women residents of a shelter in the province of Alicante, Spain. Its aim was to know their needs and provide an intervention plan to improve their emotional balance. The participants were 15 abused migrant women from South America, Central America, Eastern Europe, North Africa and East Asia and 19 Spanish women with no history of abuse included in the design as a strategy to compare the self-concept of both groups. The measures were obtained through the AF5 Self-Concept Test that measures the (1) academic-labor, (2) social, (3) emotional, (4) familiar and (5) physical dimensions. The results showed that the participants who have suffered abuse need to recover emotional balance through improvement of their professional, socioemotional, familiar and physical self-concept. Based on these findings a plan for emotional recovery through dance is proposed.