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Revue européenne de psychologie appliquée 61 (2011) 1–11 Original article Music listening and emotional well-being in adolescence: A person- and variable-oriented study Écoute de la musique et bien-être émotionnel à l’adolescence : une étude centrée sur les personnes et sur les variables D. Miranda , P. Gaudreau ∗∗ School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, 200, Lees avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 6N5, Canada article info Article history: Received 23 March 2010 Received in revised form 23 October 2010 Accepted 25 October 2010 Keywords: Music Adolescence Emotional well-being Social congruence Cluster analysis abstract The principal aim of this study was to determine if different profiles (types) of emotional reactions follow- ing music listening (happiness and sadness) characterized different levels of emotional well-being (i.e., positive and negative affects) in adolescence. The secondary aim was to examine relationships between social congruence in music tastes with friends or parents (i.e., sharing similar music tastes and having fewer conflicts about music) and emotional well-being in adolescence. This study’s sample was com- posed of 316 adolescents (M = 15.32 and S.D. = 0.90 years of age; 172 girls and 144 boys). Cluster analysis identified three profiles: (1) ‘emotionally-negative listeners’ (medium happiness and higher sadness); (2) ‘emotionally-limited listeners’ (lower happiness and lower sadness); (3) ‘emotionally-positive lis- teners’ (higher happiness and lower sadness). Results indicated that ‘emotionally-negative listeners’ had less emotional well-being, that ‘emotionally-positive listeners’ had more emotional well-being, and that social congruence in music tastes with both friends and parents were related to more emotional well-being. © 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved. Mots clés : Musique Adolescence Bien-être émotionnel Congruence sociale Analyse par regroupements résumé L’objectif primaire de cette étude était de déterminer si différents profils (types) de réactions émotion- nelles suite à l’écoute de la musique (bonheur et tristesse) caractérisent différents niveaux de bien-être émotionnel (i.e., affects positifs et négatifs) à l’adolescence. L’objectif secondaire était d’examiner les relations entre la congruence sociale des goûts musicaux avec les amis ou les parents (i.e., partager des goûts musicaux similaires et avoir moins de conflits à propos de la musique) et le bien-être émotionnel à l’adolescence. L’échantillon de cette étude était composé de 316 adolescents (M = 15.32 et ET = 0,90 ans ; 172 filles et 144 garc ¸ ons). Une analyse par regroupements (cluster analysis) a identifié trois profils : (1) « auditeurs émotionnellement négatifs » (bonheur moyen et tristesse élevée) ; (2) « auditeurs émo- tionnellement limités » (bonheur faible et tristesse faible) ; (3) « auditeurs émotionnellement positifs » (bonheur élevé et tristesse faible). Les résultats ont indiqué que les « auditeurs émotionnellement négat- ifs » avaient moins de bien-être émotionnel, que les « auditeurs émotionnellement positifs » avaient plus de bien-être émotionnel et que la congruence sociale des goûts musicaux avec les amis et les parents était associée à plus de bien-être émotionnel. © 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. Tous droits réservés. Corresponding author. ∗∗ Co-corresponding author. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (D. Miranda), [email protected] (P. Gaudreau). 1. Introduction As a scientific endeavour, studying the interface between developmental and music psychology is an integrative effort to understand how musically-related behaviours, emotions, and cognitions evolve across the life course and how they interact positively and/or negatively with psychosocial adaptation. The developmental study of music is thus an interdisciplinary research 1162-9088/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.erap.2010.10.002

Music listening and emotional well-being in adolescence: A person- and variable-oriented study

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Revue européenne de psychologie appliquée 61 (2011) 1–11

riginal article

usic listening and emotional well-being in adolescence: A person- andariable-oriented study

coute de la musique et bien-être émotionnel à l’adolescence : une étude centrée sur lesersonnes et sur les variables

. Miranda ∗, P. Gaudreau ∗∗

chool of Psychology, University of Ottawa, 200, Lees avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 6N5, Canada

r t i c l e i n f o

rticle history:eceived 23 March 2010eceived in revised form 23 October 2010ccepted 25 October 2010

eywords:usic

dolescencemotional well-beingocial congruenceluster analysis

a b s t r a c t

The principal aim of this study was to determine if different profiles (types) of emotional reactions follow-ing music listening (happiness and sadness) characterized different levels of emotional well-being (i.e.,positive and negative affects) in adolescence. The secondary aim was to examine relationships betweensocial congruence in music tastes with friends or parents (i.e., sharing similar music tastes and havingfewer conflicts about music) and emotional well-being in adolescence. This study’s sample was com-posed of 316 adolescents (M = 15.32 and S.D. = 0.90 years of age; 172 girls and 144 boys). Cluster analysisidentified three profiles: (1) ‘emotionally-negative listeners’ (medium happiness and higher sadness);(2) ‘emotionally-limited listeners’ (lower happiness and lower sadness); (3) ‘emotionally-positive lis-teners’ (higher happiness and lower sadness). Results indicated that ‘emotionally-negative listeners’had less emotional well-being, that ‘emotionally-positive listeners’ had more emotional well-being, andthat social congruence in music tastes with both friends and parents were related to more emotionalwell-being.

© 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

ots clés :usique

dolescenceien-être émotionnelongruence socialenalyse par regroupements

r é s u m é

L’objectif primaire de cette étude était de déterminer si différents profils (types) de réactions émotion-nelles suite à l’écoute de la musique (bonheur et tristesse) caractérisent différents niveaux de bien-êtreémotionnel (i.e., affects positifs et négatifs) à l’adolescence. L’objectif secondaire était d’examiner lesrelations entre la congruence sociale des goûts musicaux avec les amis ou les parents (i.e., partager desgoûts musicaux similaires et avoir moins de conflits à propos de la musique) et le bien-être émotionnel àl’adolescence. L’échantillon de cette étude était composé de 316 adolescents (M = 15.32 et ET = 0,90 ans ;172 filles et 144 garcons). Une analyse par regroupements (cluster analysis) a identifié trois profils :

(1) « auditeurs émotionnellement négatifs » (bonheur moyen et tristesse élevée) ; (2) « auditeurs émo-tionnellement limités » (bonheur faible et tristesse faible) ; (3) « auditeurs émotionnellement positifs »(bonheur élevé et tristesse faible). Les résultats ont indiqué que les « auditeurs émotionnellement négat-ifs » avaient moins de bien-être émotionnel, que les « auditeurs émotionnellement positifs » avaient plusde bien-être émotionnel et que la congruence sociale des goûts musicaux avec les amis et les parents

en-êt

était associée à plus de bi

∗ Corresponding author.∗∗ Co-corresponding author.

E-mail addresses: [email protected] (D. Miranda),[email protected] (P. Gaudreau).

162-9088/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.oi:10.1016/j.erap.2010.10.002

re émotionnel.© 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. Tous droits réservés.

1. Introduction

As a scientific endeavour, studying the interface between

developmental and music psychology is an integrative effortto understand how musically-related behaviours, emotions, andcognitions evolve across the life course and how they interactpositively and/or negatively with psychosocial adaptation. Thedevelopmental study of music is thus an interdisciplinary research
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heme that cuts across several research fields, such as psychol-gy, education, and cognitive neuroscience (e.g., Hargreaves, 1986;cPherson, 2006; Peretz and Zatorre, 2003).In regard to the developmental implications of music listening,

dolescence has been thought of being particularly meaningful,otably because motivation for music listening can reach its cli-ax during the second decade of life (Larson, 1995; North et al.,

000; Zillmann and Gan, 1997). Improving our knowledge abouthe developmental implications of music listening in adolescencerovides novel opportunities to better understand distinctive psy-hosocial needs and realities of adolescents. For instance, it hasrovided an original outlook to further understand developmentalonstructs established by mainstream psychology, such as person-lity, coping, or friendship (e.g., Delsing et al., 2008; Miranda andlaes, 2008, 2009; Rentfrow and Gosling, 2003; Selfhout et al.,009). Ultimately, knowledge about the developmental roles ofusic can be used to optimize evidence-based prevention and

ntervention programs insofar as making them more developmen-ally attuned to the lifestyle of contemporary adolescents (seeemieux et al., 2008). Moreover, developmentally attuned musicherapies for adolescents can intervene on and inform about keyspects of individual and social youth development, such as identityormation, resilience, connectedness, and competence (McFerran,010).

Music listening is usually a pleasurable, gratifying, and valu-ble daily experience throughout the life course. Nonetheless, inerms of psychosocial adaptation, music listening in adolescencean also relate (either as a protective or risk factor) to variousndicators of psychopathology. Therefore, it is also possible to talkbout a ‘developmental psychopathology of music listening’ as aesearch topic implicitly shared by several studies in adolescence.or instance, recent studies have shown complex longitudinal linksetween different music listening behaviours and externalizingroblem behaviours in adolescence, such as aggression (Selfhoutt al., 2008). Recent studies have also identified complex longitu-inal relationships between different music listening behavioursnd internalizing symptoms in adolescence, such as depressionMiranda and Claes, 2008). Recent literature reviews have also scru-inized developmental issues surrounding music in adolescencesee North and Hargreaves, 2008). Overall, such developmentaltudies and reviews (whether on externalizing or internalizingymptoms) deepen our understanding of adaptive (or maladaptive)usic listening as it relates to the negative end of the continuum

f mental health: psychopathology.Conversely, the present study strived to improve our knowledge

bout the relationships between music listening in adolescencend the positive end of the continuum of mental health: subjec-ive well-being. Subjective well-being is colloquially referred to ashappiness”, and it can be scientifically defined as the optimal pres-nce of higher levels of positive affect (pleasant emotions), lowerevels of negative affect (unpleasant emotions), and higher lev-ls of life satisfaction (see Diener, 2000). As such, this study wasnspired by the gradual shift of psychology from its traditionalmphasis on psychopathology to placing a stronger considerationn the study of positive human development. The recent move-ents of positive psychology and of psychology of positive youth

evelopment are representative examples of this scientific trendLarson, 2000; Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). Therefore,t is within a ‘positively-oriented’ developmental research thathe present study undertook to investigate links between musicistening and adolescents’ emotional well-being, a construct con-

isting of higher positive affect and lower negative affect. In fact, iteemed especially pertinent to focus on the emotional componentf subjective well-being (i.e., positive and negative affects) as musicistening is profoundly tied to both positive and negative emotionalxperiences (Juslin and Sloboda, 2010).

e psychologie appliquée 61 (2011) 1–11

Lastly, the developmental roles of music listening in adolescencecan also be organized by two overreaching motivation systems.The first motivation system is responsible for the satisfaction ofindividual needs (e.g., emotion regulation, aesthetic appreciation,coping) whereas the second is responsible for the satisfaction ofsocial needs (e.g., social identity, relationships with peers, mem-bership to musical subcultures) (Bakagiannis and Tarrant, 2006;Miranda and Claes, 2009). In this study, this framework was usedto account for individual experiences (emotional reactions frommusic listening) and social experiences (social congruence in musictastes with friends or parents) involved in the music listening ofadolescents.

1.1. Individual experiences: emotions from music listening andemotional well-being

Research suggests that positive and negative affects are two fun-damental and distinct dimensions structuring emotions (Watsonand Tellegen, 1985). For instance, it is possible to have simulta-neously negative emotions and positive emotions towards (or asa result) of any given experience – what is colloquially referredto as having “mixed feelings”. In other words, there is mount-ing empirical evidence that different levels of negative emotionsand positive emotions can be experienced simultaneously in eachand every person (Watson and Clark, 1997). In parallel, two of thebasic emotions that are activated by music listening are happiness(positive) and sadness (negative) (Kallinen, 2005). In this regard,the field of cognitive neuroscience provides compelling biologi-cal evidence for the direct influence of music on human emotions(see Juslin and Sloboda, 2010; Peretz and Zatorre, 2003). Addition-ally, recent experimental studies indicated that both positive andnegative emotional responses can coexist within the same musiclistening experience (Hunter et al., 2008). Lastly, follow-up stud-ies in natural settings – using an experience sampling method thatprovided a random sample of everyday emotional states – corrob-orated that, on average and to various degrees, both happiness andsadness are experienced from everyday life music listening (Juslinet al., 2008). In other words, different levels of negative emotionsand positive emotions can be experienced simultaneously whenone person listens to music.

Can different patterns of this simultaneous experience of hap-piness and sadness from music listening be associated withadolescents’ emotional well-being? Firstly, this seems likely if oneconsiders the importance that many adolescents give to music andthe great amount of music listening they can experience on a dailybasis (Roberts et al., 2004). Secondly, one should also add to thisconsideration that daily music listening conveys mild and cumula-tive emotional experiences that can become significant over time(Sloboda, 2010). However, to the best of our knowledge, researchhas rarely studied relationships between basic emotional reactionsfrom music listening and emotional well-being in adolescence, asthe most related research on music in adolescence has prioritizedthe study of health risks, social issues, and psychopathology. Forinstance, in terms of externalizing problem behaviours, Robertset al. (1998b) found that negative emotions experienced from musiclistening was a robust predictor of health risk behaviours (e.g., druguse, violence) in a sample of adolescents. In terms of internalizingproblem behaviours, Martin et al. (1993) have reported that expe-riencing more sadness as a result of music listening can also beassociated with higher levels of depression.

In sum, a generally positive emotional experience from music

listening could be part of, or play a role in, the normative psychoso-cial development of adolescents. The current literature providessome converging evidences supporting this assumption. Firstly,among main reasons, adolescents report listening to music becauseit provides positive and enjoyable experiences (North et al., 2000;
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arrant et al., 2000). Secondly, happiness usually occurs more oftenhan sadness during music listening (Juslin et al., 2008). Thirdly,dolescents who experience more negative emotions from musicistening have poorer mental health (Martin et al., 1993; Robertst al., 1998b). Hence, it is conceivable that experiencing more hap-iness (and less sadness) from music listening could be linked toore emotional well-being in youth.

.2. Social experiences: music listening and social congruence

In adolescence, social identity and social relationships undergoremendous changes as adolescents gradually shift their relation-hips from parents to peers (Brown and Klute, 2003; Brown andarson, 2009). As such, music listening behaviours seem to fol-ow (or facilitate) this developmental trend towards an increase ineer-related relationships (Zillmann and Gan, 1997). Understand-bly, research on music listening in adolescence has focused on itsontribution to subcultures, peer affiliation, and friendship forma-ion (e.g., Miranda and Claes, 2009; Selfhout et al., 2009). Therefore,t seems understandable that research on the developmental rolef music listening in adolescence has not considered parents asuch as peer relations. Still, from a developmental perspective,

he lack of studies on parents and music listening in adolescenceepresents a research caveat given that relationships with parentsemain extremely important throughout adolescence (Kerr et al.,003). In general, the role of parents in musical youth develop-ent has been investigated by only a limited number of studies

McPherson, 2009). Hence, in order to help fill this research gap,his study attempted to consider social congruence in music tasteshat are harmoniously shared not only with friends, but also witharents.

Congruence, as applied to interpersonal relationships, can refero the fitting of experiences between the self and social experiences,or instance in terms of satisfactory reciprocal communicationsetween individuals, a phenomenon that can promote actualiza-ion and psychological adjustment (Rogers, 1961). In this study,social congruence’ in music tastes, with friends or parents, isroadly defined as sharing more similar music tastes and expe-iencing fewer interpersonal conflicts regarding music tastes withither social milieu. Experiencing social congruence from sharingore similar music tastes with friends or parents could then be a

ontributory factor to development, given that maintaining goodelationships with peers, friends, and parents is crucial in adoles-ent development (Hartup and Stevens, 1997; Kerr et al., 2003;ouniss and Smollar, 1985). Thus, social congruence in music tastesith friends or parents could be related to more emotional well-

eing in adolescence.

.3. Gender differences in music listening: emotional and socialehaviours

Gender differences are present in the emotional and socialspects of music listening during adolescence, such as girls experi-ncing more emotional regulation from music listening (Mirandand Claes, 2007, 2008, 2009; North et al., 2000). For instance, sig-ificant gender differences were observed by Miranda and Claes2009) using self-report measures of music listening behavioursithin a correlational research design among 418 adolescents.

hey have found that adolescent girls were using emotional cop-ng by music listening significantly more often than adolescentoys. North et al. (2000) have also observed significant gender dif-

erences using self-report measures of music listening behavioursithin a correlational research design among 2465 adolescents. At

he emotional level, their results have indicated that adolescentseported using music listening behaviours as means to fulfil emo-ional needs. However, girls gave significantly more importance to

e psychologie appliquée 61 (2011) 1–11 3

this emotional function of music compared to boys (North et al.,2000). Moreover, at the social level, their results have also indi-cated that adolescents reported using music listening behavioursas ways to manage their social identity in the presence of otherpeople. Boys, however, attached significantly more importance tothis social purpose of music compared to girls (North et al., 2000).

1.4. Objectives and hypotheses

1.4.1. Main objectiveThe principal aim of this study was to determine if different

profiles (types) of emotional reactions following music listening(happiness and sadness) could characterize different levels of emo-tional well-being (positive and negative affects). The literature hasenabled the proposal of two hypotheses, which take into accountthat happiness and sadness can coexist simultaneously in musiclistening experiences (Hunter et al., 2008; Juslin et al., 2008).

Hypothesis 1. The first hypothesis suggested that most adoles-cents would be characterized by experiencing more happiness(over sadness) from music listening because such pattern could bepart of their normative development. This was suggested becausemusic listening usually provides positive emotional experiences(Juslin et al., 2008; North et al., 2000; Tarrant et al., 2000), whereasthose adolescents who experience more negative emotions frommusic listening may have poorer mental health (Martin et al., 1993;Roberts et al., 1998b).

Hypothesis 2. The second hypothesis proposed that adolescentswho experience more happiness (over sadness) from music lis-tening would report a better emotional well-being than thoseexperiencing more sadness (over happiness) from music listening.This proposition was supported by three basic features of music lis-tening (Juslin et al., 2008; Larson, 1995; North et al., 2000; Robertset al., 2004; Sloboda, 2010; Zillmann and Gan, 1997):

• it habitually provides positive emotions;• it is very important for many adolescents;• it can have cumulative emotional influences.

The first argument outlines the main valence that the influenceof positive emotional trade-offs from music listening may have onemotional well-being. Positive emotions are known to be intrinsicto emotional well-being. Therefore, if music primarily creates pos-itive emotional trade-offs, in turn, music may contribute to betteremotional well-being. The second argument underscores the acces-sibility of such positive emotional trade-offs from music listening.Many adolescents listen to a lot of their favourite music on a dailybasis. Thus, this listening tendency may multiply the daily occa-sions for music to have emotional impacts. The third argumentunderlines the strength that the influence of positive emotionaltrade-offs from music listening may have on emotional well-being.Music may only gradually influence emotional well-being, but suchaccumulation may still be partially and significantly captured byour aggregated self-report measures of emotional states. Moreover,it was considered that possible associations between musical emo-tional trade-offs and emotional well-being could be moderated bygender, given that gender differences are present in music listen-ing during adolescence, such as girls experiencing more emotionalregulation from music listening (Miranda and Claes, 2007, 2008,2009; North et al., 2000).

1.4.2. Secondary objectiveThe secondary aim of this study was to verify the presence of

significant relationships between social congruence in music tasteswith friends or parents (i.e., sharing similar music tastes and havingfewer conflicts about music) and emotional well-being.

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ypothesis 3. The third hypothesis predicted that social congru-nce in music tastes with friends and parents would be relatedo more emotional well-being. This was grounded in mainstreamesearch, which indicates that the development of good rela-ionships with both peers and parents is crucial for adolescentevelopment (Hartup and Stevens, 1997; Kerr et al., 2003; Younissnd Smollar, 1985). Once more, it was verified if these relationshipspplied for both girls and boys because of the gender differencesn music listening during adolescence, such as boys attaching

ore importance to managing their social identity through musi-al behaviours in the presence of other people (Miranda and Claes,007, 2008; North et al., 2000).

. Method

.1. Sample and procedure

This study is part of a broader research program that investi-ates the developmental roles of music listening in adolescence.he sample available for this study was composed of 329 adoles-ents (M = 15.34 and S.D. = 0.90 years of age; 179 girls and 150 boys).articipants were French-speaking students who attended gradesto 11 of a large public French high school in Montreal (Canada).fter being informed of the research, participants voluntarily con-ented to filling out a self-report questionnaire (written in French)or 30 minutes of their regular classes. This sample was also utilizedn a previous study (Miranda and Claes, 2007).

Box plots were used to identify all possible outliers with extremecores on each of the six variables in this study. In a box plot, thecore of an outlier falls at an extreme distance (more than 1.5 timeshe interquartile range) from either below the first quartile or abovehe third quartile. Accordingly, using box plots, four multivariateutliers were identified as they had extreme scores on two or moreariables. They were thus discarded from the main analyses. Addi-ionally, again using box plots, nine univariate outliers on happinessnd sadness from music listening were also discarded from theain analyses, as these two variables were later used for cluster

nalysis – a statistical procedure that can be particularly sensitiveo outliers.

Consequently, the final sample of this study was composed of16 adolescents (M = 15.32 and S.D. = 0.90 years of age; 172 girlsnd 144 boys). This final sample had an equivalent proportionf girls and boys (�2 = 2.48, P > 0.05). Many of these adolescentsad few siblings, for instance, 44.3% had no brothers and 38.3%ad no sisters. Adolescents’ parents were either married (77.8%),eparated/divorced (16.1%), or ‘other’ (6.1%). Most adolescents’arents were working in full-time jobs (fathers = 87.7%; moth-rs = 58.5%) and had completed at least their high school educationfathers = 89.9%; mothers = 92.7%). Adolescents had diversified cul-ural backgrounds as many of their parents were immigrantsfathers = 64.3%; mothers = 57.9%).

.2. Measures

.2.1. Emotional well-beingA French version (Gaudreau et al., 2006) of the Positive Affect

egative Affect Schedule (PANAS) (Watson et al., 1988) was uti-ized to assess adolescents’ current emotional well-being. Twentydjectives were rated on a five-point scale (not at all or verylightly to extremely). Ten adjectives pertained to positive affect

e.g., enthusiastic, inspired) and ten adjectives to negative affecte.g., upset, nervous). The PANAS has shown good internal consis-ency, test-retest reliability, factorial validity, and external validityWatson et al., 1988). It is not a diagnostic tool of mood disor-ers, but rather a prominent self-report measure of basic moods.

e psychologie appliquée 61 (2011) 1–11

As such, however, experiencing low positive affect and high neg-ative affect can be associated with having more symptoms ofmood disorders (e.g., distress, depression, anxiety; Watson et al.,1988). Nowadays, the PANAS is one of the most frequently usedpsychometric measure of emotional states/traits, emotional adjust-ment, and emotional well-being in major fields of psychologicalresearch, including but not restricted to: developmental psychol-ogy in adolescence (Gaudreau et al., 2009), personality psychology(Wilson and Gullone, 1999), social psychology (Koestner et al.,2002), sport psychology (Gaudreau and Blondin, 2004), psychologyof emotion (Harmon-Jones et al., 2009), and positive psychology ofmusic (Laukka, 2007). The French version of the PANAS had previ-ously undergone a thorough double back-translation, it had shownadequate internal consistency (Cronbach’s alphas), and factorialvalidity (confirmatory factor analysis) across different samples(Gaudreau et al., 2006). Recent studies on the PANAS have furthersuggested that a three-factor model (e.g., positive affect, afraid,and upset) may provide a better fit to the data than the usualtwo-factor model (positive and negative affects; Gaudreau et al.,2006). Nevertheless, for this exploratory study, we favoured theusual two-factor model (positive and negative affects), given thatit is still the classical model both in psychology (Watson and Clark,1997) and previous research on music and emotions in adolescence(Roberts et al., 1998b). In this study, in terms of Cronbach’s alphacoefficients, both positive (˛ = 0.83) and negative affect (˛ = 0.82)subscales presented good internal consistency.

2.2.2. Emotional state following music listeningHappiness resulting from music listening was measured

through an exploratory single-item measure: “I feel happy afterlistening to my favourite music. . .”. Sadness resulting from musiclistening was measured by another exploratory single-item mea-sure: “I feel unhappy after listening to my favourite music. . .”.These items originated from the psychometric work of Lacourse(1999) on music in adolescence. Both items were rated on a four-point scale (1 = not at all; 4 = a lot).

2.2.3. Social congruence in music tastes (friends or parents)Social congruence in music tastes with friends was measured

with two exploratory items:

• “Does your friends listen to the same music as you?”;• “Does it happen that you quarrel with your friends over the music

you prefer?”.

Social congruence in music tastes with parents was measuredby two analogous exploratory items:

• “Does your parents listen to the same music as you?”;• “Does it happen that you quarrel with your parents over the music

you prefer?”.

All four items were rated on a four-point scale (1 = never; 4 = veryoften).

3. Results

3.1. Correlations and descriptive statistics

Table 1 presents the correlations (Spearman’s rho) and descrip-tive statistics for the variables. Essentially, these results were useful

in verifying the absence of significant correlations between positiveaffect and negative affect, but also the absence of significant correla-tions between happiness and sadness from music listening. Hence,these results have indicated that positive affect and negative affectwere orthogonal dimensions, which is in accordance with the liter-
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Table 1Correlations (rs) and descriptive statistics (n = 316).

Variables 1 2 3 4 5 6

1. Positive affect – −0.03 0.11 −0.12* 0.02 0.13*2. Negative affect – 0.02 0.27*** −0.07 −0.20***3. Happiness from music listening – 0.01 0.11 −0.074. Sadness from music listening – −0.13* −0.095. Social congruence music taste/friends – −0.056. Social congruence music taste/parents –

M (S.D.) M (S.D.) M (S.D.) M (S.D.) M (S.D.) M (S.D.)

Total (n = 316) 31.60 (6.66) 21.83 (6.33) 3.16 (0.81) 1.21 (0.44) 6.70 (1.12) 5.13 (1.21)Girls (n = 172) 31.37 (6.50) 21.95 (6.11) 3.27 (0.71) 1.22 (0.44) 6.71 (1.17) 5.15 (1.23)Boys (n = 144) 31.87 (6.87) 21.68 (6.59) 3.03 (0.91) 1.19 (0.45) 6.68 (1.06) 5.10 (1.20)t-tests (girls-boys) −0.66 0.37 2.70** 0.53 0.28 0.30

* P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001.

Table 2Descriptive statistics of this study’s three ‘music listeners profiles’ (n = 316).

Emotionally-negative listeners (ENL) Emotionally-limited listeners (ELL) Emotionally-positivelisteners (EPL)

M (S.D.) M (S.D.) M (S.D.)

Happiness from music listening (centroids) 3.20 (0.79) 2.61 (0.59) 4.00 (0.00)Sadness from music listening (centroids) 2.08 (0.28) 1.00 (0.00) 1.00 (0.00)Happiness from music listening (z-scores) 0.04 (0.97) −0.68 (0.72) 1.03 (0.00)Sadness from music listening (z-scores) 1.96 (0.62) −0.47 (0.00) −0.47 (0.00)

n (%) n (%) n (%)

Total sample 61 (19.3) 155 (49.1) 100 (31.6)

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addition, a preliminary multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA)indicated that the three-cluster solution significantly contrastedthe scores of happiness and sadness from music listening (Wilks’s� = 0.03, F = 716.62, P < 0.001, �2 = 0.82).1

Girls subsample 36 (20.9)Boys subsample 25 (17.4)�2 (girls-boys) 1.98

roportions of the three profiles in the total sample is equivalent in girls (�2 = 0.72,

ture on emotions (Watson and Tellegen, 1985). These results havelso shown that happiness and sadness from music listening werelso orthogonal dimensions, which is in conformity with the litera-ure on music and emotions (Hunter et al., 2008; Juslin et al., 2008).s for gender differences, t-tests indicated that girls had higher

evels of happiness from music listening than boys (Table 1). Thisesult suggests that these adolescent girls and boys may have dif-ered in terms of the intensity of their emotional reaction to music.his would be compatible with the variable-oriented literature thathowed gender differences in terms of emotional regulation involv-ng music listening in youth (Miranda and Claes, 2007, 2008, 2009;orth et al., 2000).

.2. Emotional profiles of music listeners

The principal aim of this study required to account for the facthat happiness and sadness can coexist simultaneously in the expe-ience of music listening (Hunter et al., 2008; Juslin et al., 2008).hus, a person-oriented approach was adopted in order to con-ider the typical simultaneous organization of these two variablesithin each individual. In this study, a cluster analysis enabled to

dentify a number of homogeneous and mutually exclusive pro-les (types or subgroups) of individuals from the combination ofheir simultaneous scores of happiness and sadness resulting from

usic listening. Such person-oriented approaches are growing insychology and have already been fruitfully used in psychology ofusic (e.g., Mulder et al., 2007), in developmental and personality

sychology (e.g., Morizot and Le Blanc, 2005), and in research onubjective well-being (e.g., Busseri et al., 2009).

Hence, a hierarchical cluster analysis was conducted (usingard’s method and squared Euclidean distance) in order to

ategorize participants into a definite number of homogeneous

79 (45.9) 57 (33.1)35 (24.3) 84 (58.3)

0.06 1.96

5), but not in boys (�2 = 50.88, P < 0.001). * P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001.

and mutually exclusive subgroups, also labeled types or pro-files in the cluster analytical parlance (Aldenderfer and Blashfield,1984). Results indicated the possibility of clustering participantsin either three or four subgroups, both solutions accountingfor the simultaneous dual pattern of scores of happiness andsadness from music listening within each participant. The three-cluster solution explained 86% of variance, which representedan increment of 11% of explained variance over a two-clustersolution. The four-cluster solution explained 92% of variance,which represented an increment of only 6% of explained vari-ance over the three-cluster solution. Ultimately, we decidedto utilize the three-cluster solution because it was the mostparsimonious and theoretically meaningful model. The internalhomogeneity of each cluster was then verified using H valueequations (as per Morizot and Le Blanc, 2005), where k is thenumber of clusters and SSD is the sum of squared distances to

the mean(

Hk =√[

1 −(

SSDwithin k/SSDtotal sample

)]). The three

subgroups of participants from the three-cluster solution wereinternally homogeneous with excellent H values of 0.85, 0.79, and0.81, respectively. These results ascertained that the within-clustervariances remained smaller than the variance of the total sample. In

1 In support of this three-cluster solution, its profiles and their respective pro-portions were also reproducible using another clustering algorithm: Log-likelihooddistance with Schwarz’s Bayesian Criterion (for a discussion of cluster validation, seeMorizot and Le Blanc, 2005).

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6 D. Miranda, P. Gaudreau / Revue européenne de psychologie appliquée 61 (2011) 1–11

Table 3MANOVA comparing the three ‘music listening profiles’ and gender on positive affects and negative affects (n = 316).

Emotionally-negative listeners (n = 61) Emotionally-limited listeners (n = 155) Emotionally-positive listeners (n = 100) F �2

M (S.D.) M (S.D.) M (S.D.)

Positive affectTotal 30.30 (5.90) 31.14 (6.54) 33.11 (7.07) 3.87* 0.02Girls 30.16 (5.93) 30.51 (5.96) 33.33 (7.20)Boys 30.50 (5.98) 31.79 (7.08) 32.81 (6.97)

Negative affectTotal 24.42 (5.37) 21.33 (6.49) 21.02 (6.26) 7.10** 0.04Girls 23.63 (5.69) 22.34 (6.39) 20.35 (5.69)

M ; mainm .05, **

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Boys 25.56 (4.75) 20.29 (6.47)

ain effect of music listening profiles (Wilks’s � = 0.93, F = 5.38, P < 0.001, �2 = 0.03)usic listening profiles × gender (Wilks’s � = 0.97, F = 2.05, P > 0.05, �2 = 0.01). * P < 0

Table 2 presents the descriptive statistics of the three-clusterolution. Standardized scores of happiness and sadness resultingrom music listening (z-scores) were used in order to label the threerofiles more accurately. The first cluster gathered 19.3% of ado-

escents (n = 61) and was named ‘emotionally-negative listeners’ENL), because relative to the mean of the entire sample, the cen-roids (means) of the members of this profile were characterized by

edium levels of happiness and higher levels of sadness from musicistening. The second cluster grouped 49.1% of adolescents (n = 155)nd was named ‘emotionally-limited listeners’ (ELL), as relative tohe mean of the entire sample, the centroids of the members ofhis profile were characterized by lower levels of both happinessnd sadness from music listening. The third cluster grouped 31.6%f adolescents (n = 100) and was named ‘emotionally-positive lis-eners’ (EPL), given that relative to the mean of the entire sample,he centroids of the members of this profile were characterized byigher levels of happiness and lower levels of sadness from music

istening.Moreover, the cross-validation of the three-cluster solution was

scertained by testing it across two subsamples. As such, this three-luster solution (ENL, ELL, and EPL) was successfully replicatedcross the girls and boys subsamples. Table 2 presents results from2 tests for the total sample, which indicated that the proportionsf girls and boys remained similar within each of the three pro-les. Table 2 also presents additional �2 tests for the girls and boysubsamples, which indicated that the proportions (%) related tohe three profiles found in the total sample remained equivalentn the girls subsample, but not in the boys subsample. This indi-ated that compared to the girls, there was a smaller proportionf boys that were members of the ELL profile to the benefit of areater proportion of boys that were part of the EPL profile. Never-heless, the three profiles remained internally homogeneous withxcellent H values in girls (0.82, 0.84, and 0.78) and boys (0.88, 0.78,nd 0.79), respectively. Lastly, another set of preliminary MANOVAndicated that the three-cluster solution significantly contrastedhe scores of happiness and sadness from music listening in girlsWilks’s � = 0.02, F = 463.45, P < 0.001, �2 = 0.85) and boys (Wilks’s= 0.03, F = 313.14, P < 0.001, �2 = 0.82).

In sum, these results were able to show with great consistencyhat the three-cluster solution (ENL, ELL, and EPL) was parsi-

onious, interpretable, internally homogeneous, replicable, andobust. Hence, these three clusters provided a valid and reliableasis from which to examine if three emotional profiles of music

isteners have different levels of emotional well-being.

.3. Emotional profiles of music listeners and emotionalell-being

A 3 (cluster) × 2 (gender) MANOVA was conducted on twoependent variables: positive affect and negative affect. As showed

21.90 (6.92)

effect of gender (Wilks’s � = 1.00, F = 0.30, P > 0.05, �2 = 0.00); interaction effect ofP < 0.01, *** P < 0.001.

in Table 3, the main effect of music listening profiles (cluster)was significant (Wilks’s � = 0.93, F = 5.38, P < 0.001, �2 = 0.03). How-ever, the main effect of gender (Wilks’s � = 1.00, F = 0.30, P > 0.05,�2 = 0.00) and the interaction effect of music listening profiles (clus-ter) by gender (Wilks’s � = 0.97, F = 2.05, P > 0.05, �2 = 0.01) wereboth not significant. This indicated that gender differences werenot present in our main analysis. Hence, we resumed only with thesubsequent univariate analyses for music listening profiles (clus-ter), which indicated a significant main effect of the music listeningprofiles for both positive affect (F = 3.87, P < 0.05) and negative affect(F = 7.10, P < 0.01).

Consequently, Tukey’s honestly significant difference (TukeyHSD) post hoc tests were conducted (˛ = 0.05). Firstly, results indi-cated that EPL had higher levels of positive affect than ENL (P < 0.05)and ELL (P = 0.05). However, ENL and ELL had similar levels ofpositive affect (P > 0.05). Secondly, results indicated that ENL hadhigher levels of negative affect than ELL (P < 0.01) and EPL (P < 0.01).Nonetheless, EPL and ELL had similar levels of negative affect(P > 0.05).

3.4. Social congruence in music tastes with friends/parents andemotional well-being

The secondary aim of this study focused more extensively onindividual differences regarding social congruence in music tasteswith friends or parents. Hence, this study also adopted a variable-oriented approach which could account for associations betweenour socially-related variables and emotional well-being, and so,through the use of between-individuals comparisons. The variable-oriented approach is the dominant paradigm in psychology, and itsstatistical analyses (e.g., correlations, multiple regressions) empha-size on the establishment of meaningful relationships betweenvariables.

Two moderated hierarchical regressions were performed toexamine if social congruence in music tastes with friends andparents could predict either positive affect or negative affect. More-over, because of the literature reporting gender differences in musicpsychology (e.g., North et al., 2000), we verified if gender was amoderator of the links between social congruence in music tasteswith friends/parents and positive/negative affects. To this end, twointeraction terms were entered in the equation (‘congruence musicfriends × gender’ and ‘congruence music parents × gender’), as perthe approach of Cohen et al. (2003).

As indicated in Table 4, in both moderated hierarchical regres-sions, the two interaction terms did not account for a significant

proportion of variance in positive (�R2 = 0.004, P > 0.05) and neg-ative affect (�R2 = 0.012, P > 0.05). Gender was not a moderator ofthe relationships between both social congruence in music tasteswith friends or with parents and either positive or negative affect.Thus, only the main effects of both social congruence in music
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D. Miranda, P. Gaudreau / Revue européenne d

Table 4Two moderated hierarchical regressions predicting either positive/negative affectslevels from social congruence in musical taste with either friends/parents (n = 316).

Predictors ˇ t �R2

Positive affectStep 1

Gender −0.04 −0.73Social congruence music friends 0.05 0.89Social congruence music parents 0.15 2.70** 0.026*

Step 2Congruence music friends × gender 0.03 0.54Congruence music parents × gender 0.06 0.97 0.004

Negative affectStep 1

Gender 0.03 0.49Social congruence music friends −0.14 −2.51*Social congruence music parents −0.21 −3.88*** 0.063***

Step 2Congruence music friends × gender −0.08 −1.44Congruence music parents × gender 0.07 1.23 0.012

V*

tTitwrtP

4

4w

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ipsibaIac(ttt(““epatgtcf

ariables were centered and gender was coded as girls = 1 and boys = 0. * P < 0.05,* P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001.

astes with friends or parents were interpreted. As can be seen inable 4, the results indicated that higher levels of social congruencen music tastes with parents were linked to higher levels of posi-ive affect (ˇ = 0.15, P < 0.01), but social congruence in music tastesith friends was unrelated to positive affect (ˇ = 0.05, P > 0.05). The

esults also showed that higher levels of social congruence in musicastes with friends (ˇ = −0.14, P < 0.05) and parents (ˇ = −0.21,< 0.001) were both associated with lower levels of negative affect.

. Discussion

.1. Emotional profiles of music listeners and emotionalell-being

The principal aim of this study was to determine if differentrofiles (types) of emotional reactions following music listeninghappiness and sadness) could characterize different levels of emo-ional well-being (positive and negative affects).

Three profiles of emotional reactions from music listening weredentified in both adolescent girls and boys: ‘ENL’ (medium hap-iness and higher sadness); ‘ELL’ (lower happiness and loweradness); ‘EPL’ (higher happiness and lower sadness). In and oftself, documenting these three profiles provides a pertinent contri-ution, as there is a limited amount of research on music listeningnd emotions in adolescence (Schubert and McPherson, 2006).nterestingly, we only found one prior study that has used clusternalysis on emotional reactions from music listening in adoles-ence, and its results were comparable to ours. Wells and Hakanen1991) identified five clusters from 12 emotions during music lis-ening in adolescence, yet the robustness and homogeneity ofhis five-cluster solution were not thoroughly described. Never-heless, if we compare our clusters to those of Wells and Hakanen1991), their “angry” listeners are somewhat akin to our ENL; theirunemotional” listeners share similitude with our ELL; and theirself-assured” listeners are comparable to our EPL. Their “highlymotional” listeners portrayed mixed feelings not found in theresent study and their “romantic” listeners involved emotionsbsent from our study (e.g., love, passion). Hence, clusters of emo-

ional reactions from music listening may vary in numbers androw in complexity according to the number and variety of emo-ions studied. However, as in the present comparison, the corelusters pertaining to happiness and sadness are likely to emergeairly consistently across studies.

e psychologie appliquée 61 (2011) 1–11 7

The first hypothesis was that most adolescents would be char-acterized as experiencing more happiness (over sadness) frommusic listening because such pattern could be part of their nor-mative development. We had anticipated this outcome giventhat music listening generally provides positive emotional expe-riences and because adolescents who experience more negativeemotions from music listening can have poorer mental health(Juslin et al., 2008; Martin et al., 1993; North et al., 2000; Robertset al., 1998b; Tarrant et al., 2000). Thus, most adolescents shouldhave been members of the EPL profile. Surprisingly, this wasnot confirmed by the present results, as the majority of ado-lescents were members of the ELL profile. This could raise animportant question for developmental researchers working onmusic, as to whether a significant number of adolescents are actu-ally less emotionally reactive to (or less emotionally invested in)music listening. Accordingly, Juslin et al. (2008), who followeduniversity students in their everyday life using ‘palmtop’ elec-tronic devices, found that music was reported as influencing moodin 64% of everyday music listening situations – not all the time.Thus, in adolescence, it could be that a frequent, intense, andgreater positive (over negative) emotional reaction from musiclistening is not the statistical norm. That our results designatedmost adolescents as members of the ELL profile seems to bein accordance with the theorizing of Sloboda (2010) who hasrecently argued that everyday music listening may typically involvelow-intensity emotional reactions. The advantage of the person-oriented approach of this study emerges here, as it delineates thatassuming that all (or most) adolescents are highly emotionallyinvolved with music listening might be an overgeneralization. Inbrief, these results suggest that there may be different types ofadolescents – not necessarily a prototypical adolescent – when itcomes to experiencing happiness and sadness from music listen-ing.

The second hypothesis was that adolescents who experiencemore happiness (over sadness) from music listening would reporta better emotional well-being than those experiencing more sad-ness (over happiness) from music listening. We had predicted thisoutcome because of three basic reasons: music listening usuallyprovides positive emotions, music is very important for many ado-lescents, and everyday music can have moderate but cumulativeemotional effects (Juslin et al., 2008; Larson, 1995; North et al.,2000; Roberts et al., 2004; Sloboda, 2010; Zillmann and Gan, 1997).Overall, the results supported this hypothesis in both girls andboys. For positive affect, EPL were higher than both ENL and ELL,whereas ENL and ELL presented similar levels. For negative affect,ENL were higher than both ELL and EPL, whereas EPL and ELLdisplayed similar levels. In the main, these results are compati-ble with the literature, which thus far suggested that adolescentswho experience more negative emotions from music listening mayhave poorer mental health (e.g., Martin et al., 1993; Roberts et al.,1998b). From a life-span perspective, our findings may even serveas a developmental prelude to other results linking mood regula-tion by music listening and psychological well-being in older adults(Laukka, 2007).

Interestingly, although the majority of adolescents were mem-bers of the ELL profile, it is still the EPL profile that displayedthe highest levels of emotional well-being. A frequent and intensepositive (over negative) emotional reaction from music listeningmight not necessarily be the statistical norm. Nonetheless, for asignificant number of adolescents, an intense positive (over neg-ative) emotional reaction from music listening may represent a

valuable contributory factor to the actualization of their emotionalwell-being. In this sense, perhaps the EPL profile somewhat echoesthe concept of strong experiences of music, which is a positive andrare peak emotional experience from music listening (Gabrielsson,2002). Strong experiences of music can be partially interpreted
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ithin the notion of peak experiences (e.g., happiest moments,cstatic moments, complete absorption) that can be triggered byusic listening according to Abraham Maslow’s humanistic psy-

hology (Gabrielsson, 2002; Maslow, 1968; North and Hargreaves,008). Accordingly, not only strong experiences of music wereeported in adolescence, but most of them are reported by olderdults as having been experienced in adolescence (Gabrielsson,002). Hence, adolescents in the EPL profile may be those whore more susceptible of experiencing a ‘flow’ from music listening.he concept of flow refers to an optimal and intense experiencenvolving effortless engagement, concentration, and performancen an intrinsically enjoyable activity, such as music (Bakker, 2005;sikszentmihalyi, 1990; MacDonald et al., 2006). Thus, even if

ess than a third of participants were EPL, it does not signify thathe role of happiness from music listening is trivial to the emo-ional development of adolescents. On the contrary, this providesn important nuance whereby intense happiness (over sadness)rom music listening may occasionally take the form of an excep-ional peak experience that can be involved in the actualizationf the emotional development of many (but not most) adoles-ents.

It is also interesting to note that although ENL have higher lev-ls of sadness from music listening, they still experience mediumevels of happiness from music listening. Indeed, happiness is a nat-ral and particularly potent reaction from music listening (Juslint al., 2008). Of course, it is not necessarily unusual for one toe moved to tears by the sadness (or happiness) conveyed by ausical piece (or song), especially when it is interpreted with vir-

uosity and/or alludes to themes deemed insightful by the listener.owever, it has been documented that adolescents who expressed

istening to music in order to relieve negative moods can feel worserom such behaviours in the short-term (Saarikallio and Erkkilä,007). Thus, for some adolescents, such negative emotional reac-ions from music may be recurrent and less than optimal. Thisould be the result of the frequent venting of negative emotions,‘cathartic’ behaviour known to be associated with lower levels

f psychosocial adjustment in childhood and adolescence (Compast al., 2001). Adolescents belonging to the ENL profile may legiti-ately and accurately consider that their usual reaction to music

istening involves great entertainment, valuable aesthetic appreci-tion, and even perhaps a form of emotional ‘catharsis’. However,he resulting and recurrent negative (over positive) emotional reac-ion within them may unsuspectingly constitute an obstacle tohe complete actualization of their emotional well-being. On thether hand, ENL represented one-fifth of adolescents, numbershich incidentally parallel the 15 to 20% of adolescents that mayresent a given psychopathology or psychosocial problem (e.g.,haffer et al., 1996; Roberts et al., 1998a). Thus, from the perspec-ive of developmental psychopathology, adolescents with certainsychopathological symptoms might be the ones at greater risk ofxperiencing more negative (over positive) emotions from musicistening. As such, their psychopathological symptoms might haveenerated the ENL profile.

Lastly, despite that gender differences were documented forusic listening in adolescence (e.g., Miranda and Claes, 2007, 2008,

009; North et al., 2000), overall, the present person-orientedesults are similarly applicable to both adolescent girls and boys.onetheless, if we take a step aside onto a more variable-orientedpproach, the descriptive results did indicate that girls reportedigher levels of happiness from music listening than boys. Indeed,his result remains compatible with variable-oriented research,

hich indicate that emotion regulation from music listening is

reater in girls than in boys (e.g., North et al. 2000). Hence, futureesearch could investigate if gender differences that were reportedrom a variable-oriented perspective to music listening in adoles-ence remain similar or change from a person-oriented perspective.

e psychologie appliquée 61 (2011) 1–11

4.2. Social congruence in music tastes with friends/parents andemotional well-being

The secondary aim of this study was to examine if there was asignificant relationship between social congruence in music tasteswith friends or parents (i.e., sharing similar music tastes and havingfewer conflicts about music) and emotional well-being.

A third hypothesis predicted that social congruence in musictastes with friends or parents would be related to more emo-tional well-being. Overall, the results supported our hypothesis asmore social congruence in music tastes with parents was linkedto more positive affect, whereas more social congruence in musictastes with friends and parents were both linked to less negativeaffect. Hence, this is in keeping with the mainstream literature,which indicated that good quality relationships with both peersand parents are crucial for (and part of) normative adolescentdevelopment (Hartup and Stevens, 1997; Kerr et al., 2003; Younissand Smollar, 1985). Besides, in early childhood, Custodero et al.(2003) have reported that ‘musical parenting’ (i.e., when parentsplayed or sang music for their young children) was associatedwith lesser emotional distress in parents. Although this resultpertained to the emotional well-being of parents, it may alsosignify positive musical dynamics at the family level. Such posi-tive musical dynamic within parent-children dyads may furtherdevelop from childhood to adolescence, whereby some familieskeep interacting musically with each other while socially develop-ing better emotional well-being. Hence, longitudinal studies couldverify if ‘musical parenting’ in childhood can predict social con-gruence in music between adolescents and their parents, and inturn, predict better emotional well-being in both adolescents andparents.

Hence, this study goes beyond previous research about musiclistening and peer-relationships in adolescence (e.g., Bakagiannisand Tarrant, 2006; Miranda and Claes, 2009) by considering therole of parental relationships in the developmental importance ofmusic listening in adolescence. As such, results suggest that notonly social congruence in music tastes with friends can be associ-ated with better emotional well-being, but also social congruencein music tastes with parents. Previous research has suggested thatadolescents can experience more positive affects when listeningto more unconventional and rebellious music with friends ratherthan with their family (Thompson and Larson, 1995). Indeed, as aresource available to adolescents, the sharing of music tastes withpeers represents a powerful social tool for the development of theiridentity, socialization, creativity, and autonomy towards parentsand other adults (e.g., Bakagiannis and Tarrant, 2006; Zillmann andGan, 1997). In this sense, it may still be partially true that some ado-lescents develop autonomy from rebelling against their parents bydiverging in music tastes. This could particularly be the case whenadolescents consider their family relationships to be unsatisfactory,for instance, because parents are perceived as being conflictual,lacking in acceptance and communication, over-controlling, con-ventional, boring, or simply not musical enough. However, in thisstudy, some adolescents did not completely rebel in terms of musictastes, and perhaps they have felt better for it. Moreover, it maybe that adolescents with better emotional well-being interact withparents that promote excellent relationships (e.g., communication,acceptance, reasonable control, creativity), as such that their shar-ing of music tastes with parents gravitates around a much broadersystem of positive family relationships.

Thus, social congruence in music tastes with either friends

or parents are probably distinct and complementary dimensionsrather than merely opposing poles, an assumption that is supportedby an absence of negative correlation between both variables inthis study. As such, for instance, sharing music tastes may promoteidentity and autonomy through socialization with peers, while also
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romoting cultural identity and family bonding through the shar-ng of a cultural background transmitted by parents. In adolescence,haring music tastes with friends still remains much more commonhan sharing music tastes with parents, but the latter may repre-ent an original contributory factor to positive development, or ateast, a small indicator of healthy family relationships.2 Our resultsncourage more studies on the influence of parents on music lis-ening in order to provide an original outlook to further understandhe developmental role of parents in the social and emotional lifef their adolescents. Besides, as media technology constantly facil-tates music listening for new generations, parents (themselvesormer adolescents) might be more musically sophisticated (i.e.,cool’) in terms of emergent music than ever, and thus could increas-ngly enjoy sharing (and be welcomed to share) music tastes withheir adolescents. Lastly, these variable-oriented results are againimilarly applicable to both adolescent girls and boys. Neverthe-ess, there may still be some other gender differences in the various

ays adolescents can use music listening behaviours to manageheir social identity in the presence of other people (North et al.,000).

.3. Research limitations: bi-directional interpretations fororrelations

The self-reported measures pertaining to music listening werereliminary in nature. For instance, the minimal number of itemstwo-item scales) for social congruence in music tastes withriends/parents has probably limited reliability. Our very short

easure of emotional states following music listening remainedxploratory and it could not take into account the social contexte.g., alone, with friends, or with family) nor the motivation for lis-ening to music (e.g., for ambiance, party, identity). As McFerran2010) pointed out, adolescents can give importance to whetherhey are getting expected social reactions through music. Thextent to which adolescents are fulfilling different social expec-ations through different music listening behaviours may impactheir emotions in various ways that are not specifically capturedy our short measures. Moreover, it should be mentioned againhat our single-item measure of sadness resulting from music lis-ening may have lacked specificity: “I feel unhappy after listening to

y favourite music. . .”. This label should have been interpreted assadness”, but may have overlapped with other negative emotionse.g., frustration).

Also, the theoretical stance of this study remained spec-lative in suggesting that experiencing more happiness (aspposed to sadness) from music listening may be a factor,mong others, that could further develop the emotional well-eing of adolescents (music → emotional well-being). Indeed, theresent cross-sectional and correlational results do not allowxamining direction, prediction, or causality between variables.s such, it may also be that adolescents who present bettermotional well-being are more prone to experiencing and ben-fiting from positive emotions as a result of music listeningemotional well-being → music). Moreover, the relation may beeciprocal (bi-directional) with retroactive loops that can only bedentified within a longitudinal design (e.g., music ↔ emotional

ell-being ↔ music ↔ emotional well-being ↔ music ↔ emotionalell-being). In all cases, researchers and clinicians should consider

hat resilient and non-resilient adolescents may use music listeningn different ways (McFerran, 2010).

2 Indeed, the mean level of social congruence in music tastes with friends wasigher than that of social congruence in music tastes with parents (t = 24.96,< 0.001).

e psychologie appliquée 61 (2011) 1–11 9

Lastly, it is also important to delineate the factors that might beinvolved in the development of the present music listening profiles(ENL, ELL, and EPL). For this matter, a useful model could be thatof Hargreaves et al. (2006), which is a ‘reciprocal feedback’ modelof musical response that depicts interactions between the music,the listener, and the situation/context. For instance, it is possiblethat in the course of adolescence, the three music listening profiles(ENL, ELL, and EPL) develop from complex interactions between thecharacteristics of songs (music and lyrics), of listeners (personalityand motivation), and of situations/contexts (positive and negativesocial life events).

4.4. Potential practical implications: music education andprevention in adolescence

Of course, much more research is needed before planning foractual interventions. Still, the results of this study suggest potentialimplications for music educators and mental health practitioners.Indeed, our results suggested that positive individual experiences(EPL) and positive social experiences (social congruence in musictastes with friends/parents) from music listening may potentiallycontribute to positive youth development (emotional well-being).

Firstly, results concerning emotional reactions from musiclistening may provide an additional argument in favour of encour-aging more music education in adolescence. This is the case giventhat music education can potentially promote emotional devel-opment (such as mood regulation, North and Hargreaves, 2008),and also because music education can elicit peak experiencesrelating to music, such as flow (e.g., Bakker, 2005; MacDonaldet al., 2006). Encouraging more developmentally appropriate musiceducation in adolescence is an important issue, as in numeroussocieties, music education is either limited to an elective sub-ject or to classes primarily offered at elementary levels (Northand Hargreaves, 2008). As such, emotional well-being may be anoutcome targeted by music education in adolescence. Structuredmusic education should thus be adjusted to the needs, realities,and tastes of adolescents, while taking into account that theirvoluntary music-related leisure activities remain developmentallysignificant. As such, Larson (2000) argues that within 21th centurysocieties that require individual autonomy, developing ‘initiative’(intrinsic motivation and deep attention) in youth is very impor-tant, and that the daily development of initiative in youth canbe promoted more effectively by structured voluntary activities,such as the arts. Accordingly, the importance of informal musiceducation (outside of schools) is nowadays catching up to thatof formal music education (e.g., schools, conservatories; Northand Hargreaves, 2008). Hence, it may be pertinent to encourageevidence-based, structured, and yet informal/voluntary music edu-cation programs in youth that will not only pertain to music playing,but also to music listening.

Secondly, findings about social congruence in music tastes withparents could provide new paths for evidence-based preventionprograms by making them more developmentally sensitive. Withinthe prevention science literature, multi-components evidenced-based prevention programs in childhood and adolescence ofteninclude interventions that involve parents. For example, FAST-TRACK, an effective evidence-based program for the prevention ofantisocial behaviours in childhood and adolescence, considers mul-tiple risk and protective factors, such as those relating to parentingpractices (Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group, 2007).This brings us back to the recent work of Lemieux et al. (2008) who

have conducted an experimental program evaluation demonstrat-ing the effectiveness of a music-based HIV prevention-interventionfor adolescents, which included evidence-based principles of theinformation, motivation, and behavioural skills model. Amongother things, in their music-based prevention program, attention
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as given to the importance of peers in music-related activitiesn adolescence, which was in line with the current literature on

usic in adolescence. However, the present study can suggest thatxploring the importance of parental relationships in the devel-pmental significance of music listening in adolescence could alsorovide a potential adjunct to such developmentally-relevant andffective prevention programs. For instance, music could be usedo promote family bonding and communication between parentsnd adolescents.

Lastly, our exploratory findings may eventually have somemplications for music therapy in youth. Hitherto, music therapyor adolescents has usually focused on individual rather than groupork – despite the social importance of music (McFerran, 2010).ccordingly, the present findings may suggest that both peers andarents should be considered in future adolescent research onroup music therapy within educational and community settings.

onflict of interest statement

None.

cknowledgments

This study was supported in part by a scholarship for postdoc-oral research from the Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la sociétét la culture (FQRSC) awarded to the first author. This study waslso supported in part by a research grant from the Social Sciencesnd Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) awarded to theecond author.

The authors also thank Marie-Claude Fecteau and Amandahompson for their comments on an earlier version of this article.

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