The Effect of a Music Therapy Intergenerational Program on Children and Older Adults' Intergenerational Interactions, Cross-Age Attitudes, and Older Adults' Psychosocial Well-Being

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of participation in a music-based intergenerational music program on cross-age interactions and cross-age attitudes of elementary-age children and older adults, and older adults' psychosocial well-being. Twenty-one children in the 4th grade volunteered to participate in the experimental (n = 12) or control (n = 9) group. Twenty-six older adults from a retirement living facility also volunteered to participate in the experimental (n = 14) or control (n = 12) group. Ten 30-min music sessions occurred in which participants engaged in singing, structured conversation, moving to music, and instrument playing interventions. Data analysis of cross-age interactions revealed that the interventions "structured conversation" and "moving to music" were more effective in eliciting interaction behaviors than the interventions "singing" and "instrument playing." Standardized measures revealed that children's attitudes towards older adults improved, though not significantly so, after participation in the intergenerational program. Results of biweekly post-session questionnaires revealed a decrease in negative descriptions of older adults and an increase in positive descriptions of older adults--suggesting a more positive view towards aging. Results revealed that older adults' attitudes towards children improved significantly after their participation in the intergenerational program. While standardized measures revealed that older adults did not perceive a significant improvement in their psychosocial well-being, their bi-weekly post-session questionnaires showed they perceived increased feelings of usefulness and other personal benefits from the intergenerational interactions. Suggestions for future research, the utility of varied measurement instruments, and implications for practice are discussed.

Intervenciones Intergeneracionales Basadas Científicamente

“…Belgrave (2011) no efectuó un registro escrito de las sesiones, a la vez que Boswell (2012), Celdrán, Villar & Triadó (2012), Chippendale (2013), y Jarrott & Smith (2011) no llevaron a cabo registro de ningún tipo durante las reuniones de seguimiento.…”

The Effects of Intergenerational Programmes on Children and Young People

“…In a non-randomised controlled study [6] explored the impacts of an intergenerational music programme between 26 older people from a retirement living facility and 21 children aged 9-10 on grade 4 at elementary school. This was a 10-session programme with each session lasting half an hour and consisting of singing, moving to music, structured communication and instrument playing.…”

“…The exact mechanisms of how these benefits could occur have not been very well documented. However, it was shown that the intergenerational activities performed with smaller groups or one to one pairs tended to show greater effects [5,6,10,18]. In this way children are more exposed to older people's accumulated knowledge and experiences and have an opportunity to learn about older people's views and wisdom.…”

Diferenciación pedagógica y participación democrática en el aula inclusiva: Estudio de casos múltiples

“…Igualmente, estas relaciones e intercambios también presentan beneficios en las personas mayores. Las relaciones intergeneracionales tienen beneficios en el envejecimiento cognitivo (Whitehouse, 2013) y también derivan beneficios en el bienestar psicosocial (Belgrave, 2011). Murillo y Krichesky (2015), aluden a diferentes experiencias que contribuyen a fomentar mecanismos que propician el aprendizaje con la comunidad desde múltiples vertientes, éstas son: 1) aprender de la comunidad: invitar a familiares u otros agentes a que compartan su conocimiento o experiencia en el contexto educativo, 2) aprender con la comunidad: familias y maestros aprenden de manera conjunta sobre una temática (p.ej.…”

“…Sin embargo, en el proyecto de Betxí a lo largo del tiempo los abuelos son la principal fuente de información y su protagonismo en el mismo es notable. Para las personas mayores es muy gratificante, dar testimonio y compartir conocimiento, lo conciben como una responsabilidad (Belgrave, 2011;Whitehouse, 2013).…”