Dance course participation is associated with reductions in anxiety sensitivity physical concerns in college students

College students face heightened risk for anxiety. Anxiety sensitivity (AS), the fear of anxiety-related sensations, is a key vulnerability factor for anxiety. Dance courses, which incorporate aerobic exercise, may provide interoceptive exposure to anxiety-related sensations, which may correspond with reductions in AS. The current quasi-experimental study investigated the association between participation in university dance courses relative to non-dance courses, and changes in AS over time. Undergraduate students were recruited from dance courses, including traditional dance and mindfulness-infused dance, and non-dance courses. Consented students ( N = 271) completed a testing battery online at the beginning of the academic semester (T1) and 7 weeks later (T2). This battery included the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 (ASI-3), demographic and engagement information, and other metrics outside the current scope. Multilevel models revealed greater reductions in AS physical concerns in students enrolled in dance courses, relative to those in non-dance courses, even after accounting for out-of-class exercise engagement and intensity ( b = -1.13, SE = 0.36, t (227.81) = -3.15, p = .002, 95% CI [-1.84, -0.42]). Our findings suggest that university dance courses may warrant further investigation as a promising, pragmatic, and scalable curricular approach associated with reductions in AS physical concerns.