Ballroom dance and positive aging among middle-aged and older adults: a chain mediation model of social connection and loneliness

BACKGROUND: Population aging has made positive aging a global public health priority. Ballroom dance, as a partner-based group physical activity, may benefit middle-aged and older adults' physical and mental health. However, the psychosocial pathways linking ballroom dance participation to positive aging remain underexplored. This cross-sectional study examined the associations between ballroom dance participation and positive aging, and tested whether social connection and loneliness serve as sequential mediators in this relationship. METHODS: A community-based sample of 463 middle-aged and older adults (aged 45-70 years) who regularly participated in ballroom dance in Shijiazhuang, China, completed validated measures of ballroom dance participation (PARS-3), social connection, loneliness (UCLA Loneliness Scale), and positive aging. Chain mediation analysis was performed using PROCESS macro (Model 6) with 5,000 bootstrap resamples, controlling for age, sex, and education. Detailed demographic characteristics are reported in the Results section. RESULTS: Ballroom dance participation was positively associated with positive aging (β = 0.223, p < 0.001). The indirect effects through social connection (β = 0.176, 95% CI [0.124, 0.235], 30.11% of total effect) and through loneliness (β = 0.052, 95% CI [0.021, 0.089], 8.89%) were significant. Moreover, a sequential chain mediation (ballroom dance → social connection → loneliness → positive aging) was also significant (β = 0.069, 95% CI [0.042, 0.102], 11.83%). The total indirect effect accounted for 50.94% of the total effect. CONCLUSION: In this cross-sectional sample, ballroom dance participation was associated with higher positive aging, and this association was statistically consistent with a chain mediation model where greater social connection and lower loneliness act sequentially. These findings provide preliminary, hypothesis-generating evidence for psychosocial pathways linking partner-based dance to positive aging. Longitudinal and intervention studies are needed to test causality.