Resilience and mental health issues in classical musicians: a preliminary study

Jolan Kegelaers, Michiel Schuijer, Raôul RD Oudejans

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    4 Citations (Scopus)
    1164 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    Due to considerable occupational challenges and stressors, classical musicians might face increased risk for mental health issues, compared to the general population. As such, scholars have highlighted the importance of developing psychological resilience in musicians. Nevertheless, this important psychological characteristic has remained understudied within music psychology. The present study therefore examined the relationship between mental health issues and resilience. Using a cross-sectional survey design, a total of 64 musicians (including both music students and professionals) participated in this study. Results highlight that symptoms of depression/anxiety were relatively high within the current population. Moreover, music students experienced significantly more symptoms compared to professional musicians. Both resilience and general physical health were found to be negatively associated with mental health issues. The results highlight the need for further research into mental health issues in music students and provide preliminary evidence for the importance of psychological resilience in classical musicians.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1273-1284
    JournalPsychology of Music
    Volume49
    Issue number5
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2021

    Funding

    The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was part of the Raak-Publiek project titled “Training for Excellence,” funded by SIA (grant number SVB/RAAK.PUB04.027).

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