A Preschool Rhythm and Movement Intervention: RCT Evidence for Improved Social and Behavioral Development.

Active music and movement engagement has been widely integrated in human socialization across history and cultures, and is particularly prevalent in early childhood play and learning. For clinical populations, music therapy is known to support social skills and wellbeing for young children. However, there is less evidence for the value of active music engagement for non-clinical populations in terms of supporting social and behavioral wellbeing in the early years. This study reports results from the Rhythm and Movement for Self-Regulation (RAMSR) program delivered by generalist kindergarten teachers in low socioeconomic communities. This randomized control trial involved 213 children across eight preschools in disadvantaged communities in Queensland, Australia. The intervention group received 16 to 20 sessions of RAMSR over eight weeks, while the control group undertook usual preschool programs. Data was collected through teacher report at pre and post intervention, and again six months later once children had transitioned into their first year of school. Robust mixed models accounting for repeated measures and clustering of children within kindergartens (random effects), evidenced significant intervention effects across the three time points for improved prosocial skills (