[Listening to music in old age : Investigation of utilization and psychosocial resources]

Background: Studies with younger participants have shown that listening to music is used to achieve a multitude of positive effects that can be summarized by three fundamental dimensions: self-awareness, social relatedness and regulation of mood and arousal. For the elderly, these effects contain a high potential with respect to alleviation of affective symptoms and enhancement of social participation; however, it is still unclear if the elderly exhibit the same pattern of fundamental uses of listening to music as younger persons and how they evaluate their access to music in different housing situations.

Material and methods: To answer these questions, 115 persons (aged 57-94 years) in different housing situations were asked for their motives for listening to music and their satisfaction with various aspects of access to music.

Results: The elderly showed the same pattern of the three fundamental dimensions of the use of listening to music as younger respondents, although specific uses were more pronounced, such as relaxation, reminiscing, and compensation for loneliness; however, the general intensity of the use of listening to music was lower. Older people saw deficits in the frequency, coordination, and communication of musical arrangements in their residential environment.

Conclusion: Older people listen to music to obtain specific effects in the same way as younger people do; however, the decreasing intensity of the use of listening to music, together with the desires of the older respondents, demonstrate a need for more musical arrangements that should be better coordinated, communicated, and preferably personalized.