title: Exploring Musical Activities and Their Relationship to Emotional Well-Being in Elderly People across Europe: A Study Protocol.
abstract: Music is a powerful, pleasurable stimulus that can induce positive feelings and can therefore be used for emotional self-regulation. Musical activities such as listening to music, playing an instrument, singing or dancing are also an important source for social contact, promoting interaction and the sense of belonging with others. Recent evidence has suggested that after retirement, other functions of music, such as self-conceptual processing related to autobiographical memories, become more salient. However, few studies have addressed the meaningfulness of music in the elderly. This study aims to investigate elderly people's habits and preferences related to music, study the role music plays in their everyday life, and explore the relationship between musical activities and emotional well-being across different countries of Europe. A survey will be administered to elderly people over the age of 65 from five different European countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechia, Germany, Ireland, and UK) and to a control group. Participants in both groups will be asked about basic sociodemographic information, habits and preferences in their participation in musical activities and emotional well-being. Overall, the aim of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of the role of music in the elderly from a psychological perspective. This advanced knowledge could help to develop therapeutic applications, such as musical recreational programs for healthy older people or elderly in residential care, which are better able to meet their emotional and social needs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, University of BarcelonaBarcelona, Spain; Cognition and Brain Plasticity Unit, Bellvitge Biomedical Research InstituteBarcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Grau-Sánchez
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, National University of Ireland Galway, Ireland.
authors.forename: Meabh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Foley
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Masaryk University Brno, Czechia.
authors.forename: Renata
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hlavová
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Helsinki Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Ilkka
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Muukkonen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Deusto Bilbao, Spain.
authors.forename: Olatz
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ojinaga-Alfageme
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Banja Luka Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
authors.forename: Andrijana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Radukic
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Oldenburg Oldenburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Spindler
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Vienna Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Bodil
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hundevad
keywords: cross-cultural; elderly population; emotion; music; well-being