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

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of participation in an intergenerational music therapy program on cross-age interactions and cross-age attitudes of elementary-age children and older adults. A secondary purpose was to examine the effect of participation in an intergenerational music therapy program on older adults' psychosocial well-being. Older adults and elementary-age children served as participants (N = 47). 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-minute music therapy sessions occurred over 15 weeks at the retirement facility during which participants engaged in singing, structured conversation, moving to music, and instrument playing interventions. The dependent variables in this study were: types and frequency of cross-age interactions, children's attitudes towards older adults, older adults' attitudes towards children, and older adults' psychosocial well-being. All sessions were videotaped for the purposes of analysis and coding of participants' cross-age interactions. Data analysis of cross-age interactions revealed that the interventions "structured conversation" and "moving to music" were more effective in eliciting children's and older adults' interaction behaviors than the interventions "singing" and "instrument playing." Both child and older adult participants exhibited the interaction behaviors "looks at older adult/child," "smiles," and "initiates conversation with older adult/child" more frequently than the behaviors "encourages older adult/child" or "assists older adult/child." 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. Improvements were found for three of four attitudinal dimensions, indicating that older adults perceived children to be more "positive," "mature," and "good" after participating in the intergenerational program. Data analysis of the psychosocial well-being measures revealed that older adults did not perceive a significant improvement in their generativity or sense of self-worth after participation in the intergenerational program. Although pre-posttest results on standardized measures of well-being were not significantly different, older adults' mean scores on the generativity and self-worth measures increased after participation in the intergenerational program. The results of other measures indicated that older adult participants' enjoyed the intervention sessions, and that they perceived personal benefits from their interactions with the child participants. Over the course of the intergenerational program, participants also perceived increased feelings of usefulness. Suggestions for future research, the utility of varied measurement instruments, and implications for music therapy practice are discussed.