Summary: New research from the University of Arizona finds that shared musical experiences between parents and children—especially during adolescence—are linked to stronger parent–child relationships in emerging adulthood.
Source: University of Arizona
If your teenager spends family trips with earbuds in, consider asking them to unplug and play something the whole family can enjoy.
A recent study suggests that sharing musical moments with your child now could help strengthen your relationship later. Researchers at the University of Arizona report that young adults who recall engaging in musical activities with their parents—such as listening to music together, attending concerts, or making music—tend to describe closer relationships with their mothers and fathers as they enter their early twenties.
“If you have little kids and you play music with them, that helps you be closer to them, and later in life will make you closer to them,” said study co-author Jake Harwood, professor and head of the UA Department of Communication. “If you have teenagers and you can successfully listen to music together or share musical experiences with them, that has an even stronger effect on your future relationship and the child’s perception of the relationship in emerging adulthood.”
The researchers surveyed a group of young adults, average age 21, asking how often they engaged with their parents in musical activities during two developmental windows: ages 8–13 and age 14 and older. Participants also reported how they currently perceive their relationship with each parent. The analysis controlled for other common parent–child activities, isolating the role that music plays.
Across the board, shared musical experiences during childhood were linked to better perceived relationship quality in young adulthood, but the association was strongest for musical interactions that occurred during adolescence. The research team suggests this pattern may reflect the greater emotional significance of shared activities that are less common for teenagers than for younger children.
“With young kids, musical activity is fairly common—singing lullabies, doing nursery rhymes,” Harwood explained. “With teenagers, it’s less common, and when things are less common you might find bigger effects, because when these things happen, they’re super important.”
Lead author Sandi Wallace began the research as an undergraduate in Harwood’s music and communication class. “I wanted to know whether music’s emotional power could influence and improve parent–child relationships,” Wallace said. She completed her bachelor’s degree in communication at UA and will begin graduate studies in the same field.
The study points to two mechanisms that may explain how shared musical engagement strengthens relationships: interpersonal coordination and empathy. Coordination refers to the synchrony that happens when people sing, dance, or play together. Prior research shows synchronized activity tends to increase mutual liking and social bonding. Empathy refers to music’s ability to evoke and communicate emotions, which can help listeners better understand and resonate with one another.
Harwood and Wallace found evidence that both coordination and empathy contribute to stronger parent–child relationships, with coordination appearing to be the more influential mediator based on participants’ reports of how in sync they felt with their parents during collaborative tasks and their empathetic perspective toward parents.
Importantly for parents, musical interactions do not need to be elaborate or formal to be beneficial. Simple activities—listening to music together in the car, sharing a favorite song, or attending a concert—may have significant long-term value. The study observed smaller numbers of participants who played instruments with their parents, so the researchers caution that further work is needed to compare formal and informal musical experiences more precisely.
The authors recommend that parents increase musical interactions with their children—especially with teens—and give young people opportunities to influence shared listening choices. Allowing a teenager to choose the music occasionally can be a simple, low-pressure way to build connection.
“For parents who are thinking long term about the kind of relationship they want with their kids, musical engagement is not a guaranteed solution, but it is a practical and enjoyable way to strengthen bonds and help maintain those relationships over time,” Wallace said.
Source: Alexis Blue — University of Arizona
Publisher: Organized by Neuroscience News
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Original Research: Abstract for “Associations between shared musical engagement and parent–child relational quality: the mediating roles of interpersonal coordination and empathy” by Sandi D. Wallace & Jake Harwood in Journal of Family Communication. Published April 30, 2018.
DOI: 10.1080/15267431.2018.1466783
University of Arizona. “To Improve Future Relationship With Your Kids, Turn Up the Music.” Neuroscience News. Published May 2, 2018.
Abstract
Associations between shared musical engagement and parent–child relational quality: the mediating roles of interpersonal coordination and empathy
This study assessed whether parent–child musical engagement during childhood and adolescence predicts relational quality in emerging adulthood. Grounded in the communicative dynamics of musical interaction, the authors tested whether perceptions of interpersonal coordination and empathy mediate that effect. Results supported mediated effects, particularly with coordination as a key mediator. These associations remained after accounting for other positive parent–child activities, underscoring the distinct relational power of shared musical engagement and the importance of the nature of parent–child interactions.