Psychological Well-Being of (Non)Musicians: Contribution of Personality Traits and Functions of Music Listening

Abstract

The aim of the research was to examine the contribution of
personality traits and the functions of listening to music to the
explanation of psychological well-being, and to determine
whether the contribution of the functions of music to the
explanation of the psychological well-being of musicians and
nonmusicians differs. The research was conducted on a
sample of a total of 876 participants, students of music
academies and students of other study programmes from
Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro.
The following instruments were used in the research: a
general data questionnaire, an emotional stability scale, an
intellect scale, a shortened version of the psychological well-
-being scale and a shortened version of the music listening
function scale. The results showed that musicians and non-
-musicians differ in personality traits (musicians scored
higher on both traits) and in the functions of music listening,
whereby non-musicians listen to music more for stress and
affect regulation, while for musicians, awe and appreciation,
strong emotional experience, and identity are more
important functions of music. Personality traits were a strong
predictor of psychological well-being in both subsamples, but
in addition to them, the functions of music also showed a
significant separate contribution to psychological well-being.
The results led to the conclusion that the contribution of
functions of music listening to psychological well-being does
not differ significantly between musicians and non-musicians.