The Social Impact of Musical Engagement for Young Adults With Learning Difficulties: A Qualitative Study
- PMID: 31316411
- PMCID: PMC6610152
- DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01300
The Social Impact of Musical Engagement for Young Adults With Learning Difficulties: A Qualitative Study
Abstract
There is evidence that music interventions can offer opportunities for creative, psychological, and social developments for individuals with mild to profound learning disabilities, addressing the disadvantages they face in respect of social outcomes. This paper reports on a qualitative study investigating a community music intervention for such a population. Thirty-seven adult service users (12 female, 25 male) took part in weekly music workshops for 10 weeks. Their learning difficulties ranged from mild to profound, and their levels of independence ranged from requiring constant one-to-one care to living alone in sheltered accommodation. Interviews were conducted at multiple time points with music and resource center staff as well as participants and members of their families and other center users; researchers also observed all workshops, taking field notes. Thematic analysis of the data informed understanding of the disadvantages facing participants, their experience of the workshop program and its immediate and wider social outcomes, as well as suggesting key mechanisms for effects. Disadvantages and barriers facing participants included: limited access to enjoying or learning music; boredom, isolation, and limited networks; lack of experience of new social contexts; and an associated lack of confidence, low mood or self-esteem. Participants were found to enjoy and sustain engagement with a program of dedicated group music workshops delivered by staff trained in an empathic and inclusive approach. Impacts included an ongoing enthusiasm to engage in music; wider recognition of musicality; increased self-confidence; being happier, more relaxed, and/or enthusiastic after the workshops; better ability to interact with unfamiliar situations and people; and participation in social activities for an unprecedented length of time. Key factors in achieving those impacts are that participants: had fun and interacted socially; felt secure, welcomed, and involved at all times; exercised choice; worked with others in nonverbal tasks; and encountered challenge while engaging and progressing at their own rate.
Keywords: disability; inequality; interaction; learning difficulties; music; psychology; social.
Similar articles
-
Understanding the Wellbeing Effects of a Community Music Program for People With Disabilities: A Mixed Methods, Person-Centered Study.Front Psychol. 2020 Dec 14;11:588734. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.588734. eCollection 2020. Front Psychol. 2020. PMID: 33381067 Free PMC article.
-
Creative aging in virtual spaces: using museum content and music therapy to explore cultural diversity.Front Med (Lausanne). 2023 Nov 30;10:1273000. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1273000. eCollection 2023. Front Med (Lausanne). 2023. PMID: 38098846 Free PMC article.
-
Technology and the environment: supportive resource or barrier for people with developmental disabilities?Nurs Clin North Am. 2003 Jun;38(2):331-49. doi: 10.1016/s0029-6465(02)00053-1. Nurs Clin North Am. 2003. PMID: 12914311 Review.
-
Examining the impact of a city-wide intensive interaction staff training program for adults with profound and multiple learning disability: a mixed methods evaluation.Disabil Rehabil. 2020 Jan;42(2):201-210. doi: 10.1080/09638288.2018.1495769. Epub 2018 Aug 17. Disabil Rehabil. 2020. PMID: 30117338
-
Challenge Demcare: management of challenging behaviour in dementia at home and in care homes – development, evaluation and implementation of an online individualised intervention for care homes; and a cohort study of specialist community mental health care for families.Southampton (UK): NIHR Journals Library; 2017 Aug. Southampton (UK): NIHR Journals Library; 2017 Aug. PMID: 28783270 Free Books & Documents. Review.
Cited by
-
Self-Perception of Inclusion in an Inclusive Choir: An Analysis Using the Scale for the Assessment of Inclusion (SAI).Behav Sci (Basel). 2023 Sep 12;13(9):758. doi: 10.3390/bs13090758. Behav Sci (Basel). 2023. PMID: 37754036 Free PMC article.
-
Singing and Social Identity in Young Children.Front Psychol. 2022 Jun 2;13:823229. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.823229. eCollection 2022. Front Psychol. 2022. PMID: 35719461 Free PMC article.
-
Music-based interventions for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities: A systematic review of the literature.J Intellect Disabil. 2023 Jun;27(2):370-387. doi: 10.1177/17446295221087563. Epub 2022 Apr 29. J Intellect Disabil. 2023. PMID: 35485367 Free PMC article.
-
How Do Music Activities Affect Health and Well-Being? A Scoping Review of Studies Examining Psychosocial Mechanisms.Front Psychol. 2021 Sep 8;12:713818. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.713818. eCollection 2021. Front Psychol. 2021. PMID: 34566791 Free PMC article. Review.
-
A Space for Collaborative Creativity. How Collective Improvising Shapes 'a Sense of Belonging'.Front Psychol. 2021 Mar 31;12:648770. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.648770. eCollection 2021. Front Psychol. 2021. PMID: 33868125 Free PMC article.
References
-
- Bates P., Davis F. A. (2004). Social capital, social inclusion and services for people with learning disabilities. Disabil. Soc. 19, 195–207. 10.1080/0968759042000204202 - DOI
-
- Becker H. S. (1986). Doing things together: Selected papers. (Evanston: Northwestern University Press; ).
-
- de Jong Gierveld J., van Tilburg T., Dykstra P. A. (2006). “Loneliness and social isolation” in The Cambridge handbook of personal relationships. eds. Vangelisti A. L., Perlman D. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; ), 485–500.
-
- DeNora T. (2000). Music in everyday life. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; ).
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources