Relationships between psychological well-being, happiness, and educational satisfaction in a group of university music students

Abstract

Few studies have been conducted on music students' psychological well-being and happiness. The purpose was to assess the psychological well-being, happiness and educational satisfaction among a group of university music students. Students participated voluntarily and filled out a sociodemographic questionnaire, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21), Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ) and a questionnaire for educational satisfaction. Participation rate was 92.0%. Participants had mild depression, moderate anxiety and mild stress. Educational satisfaction was not related to students' academic achievement. First and second year students and female participants were more satisfied with their education. Significant relationships were found between psychological well-being, happiness and educational satisfaction. Depression, stress and anxiety had a negative impact on happiness. Putting curricula of health promotion and prevention into practice at music departments could be a good starting point to diminish both physical and psychological injuries among students and artists.

Happiness Among College Students: A Cross-Sectional Web-Based Study Among Iranian Medical Students

“…In this study, the mean Oxford happiness score was 114.59 ± 18.31. Recent studies among Turkish university students have represented the mean Oxford happiness score of 119.92 and 115.81 (21,22). It can be said that the group of students in the current study had lower scores in terms of happiness than Turkish students.…”

Perceived Enablers and Barriers to Optimal Health among Music Students: A Qualitative Study in the Music Conservatoire Setting

“…In addition to risk factors associated with studying in higher education – such as being a full-time student, being under financial strain, and being a young person (Stallman, 2010) – Demirbatir (2015) argues that the environment of studying music “can be considered as a stressful place because of high competition, isolation, failure to achieve career goals, authoritarian teaching style, and intolerance against errors caused by stress or anxiety and financial uncertainty.” Indeed, a number of studies have attempted to scrutinize the cultures, or learning environments, of music in higher education. Nettl (1995) highlighted the emphasis placed on the performing (rather than academic) aspect of music, a point reinforced by Kingsbury’s (2001) analysis that “conservatoire life is about talent” (p. 59), contributing to hierarchies constructed through and by performing success.…”

The Mediating Role of Shyness on the Relationship Between Academic Satisfaction and Flourishing among Pre-Service Music Teachers

“…Promoting psychological well-being across pre-service music teachers seems to have a special importance, since performing music has been considered as a disruptor of well-being (Philippe et al, 2013), because of many challenges, such as anxiety and distress (Antonini & Güsewell, 2016;Kenny, Driscoll, & Ackermann, 2014), physical pain (Kenny & Ackerman, 2015), and musculoskeletal disorders (Cruder et al, 2018), musicians face in their practice. Additionally, it has been reported in previous empirical studies that, although depression, anxiety and stress have been reported to be prevalent among students in higher education (Nerdrum, Rustøen, & Rønnestad, 2006;Wong, Cheung, Chan, Ma, & Tang, 2006), music education students are in a more disadvantaged position with regards to depression, anxiety, and stress compared to other college student populations (Demirbatır, 2015;Spahn, Strukely, & Lehmann, 2004). Higher rates of fatigue (Hildebrandt, Nubling, & Candia, 2012), burnout and stress (Bernhard, 2005;Sternbach, 2008) have also been reported for music education students.…”