Developmental Growth: Do parent/child music groups really support development?

[Elizabeth Schwartz]

Do parent/child music groups really support development?
Music therapists have been in the forefront of research support for the opportunity for developmental growth for all children within early childhood music groups. Here is a selection of articles that I often use as references.

Nicholson, J. M., Berthelsen, D., Abad, V., Williams, K., & Bradley, J. (2008). Impact of music therapy to promote positive parenting and child development. Journal of Health Psychology, 13, 226.

ABSTRACT
The effectiveness of a 10-week group music therapy program for marginalized parents and their children aged 0—5 years was examined. Musical activities were used to promote positive parent—child relationships and children’s behavioral, communicative and social development. Participants were 358 parents and children from families facing social disadvantage, young parents or parents of a child with a disability. Significant improvements were found for therapist-observed parent and child behaviors, and parent-reported irritable parenting, educational activities in the home, parent mental health and child communication and social play skills. This study provides evidence of the potential effectiveness of music therapy for early intervention.

Shoemark, H. (1996). Family-centered early intervention: Music therapy in the playgroup program. Australian Journal of Music Therapy, 7, 3.

ABSTRACT
This article describes the inclusion of music therapy in a family-centered playgroup program within an early intervention setting. The purposes of the playgroup were to provide an introduction for the family to the formal and informal networks which it could use, and to offer support for the early development of healthy family relationships. The purpose of the music therapy program within this, was to nurture creative expression in each family member, and assist in their enjoyment of each other. Song was the primary vehicle used because of its accessibility to the group members. The value of the music session was enhanced by the use at home of an audio-cassette of the songs and a lyrics book. Verbal and written feedback indicated that music was able to support families in developing skills which would enhance their relationships.

Standley, J. M., Walworth, D., & Nguyen, J. (2009). Effect of parent/child group music activities on toddler development: A pilot study. Music Therapy Perspectives, 27(1), 11.

ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to ascertain the effects of structured group music activities on childhood development prior to age 2 years. Toddlers between 12 and 24 months of age participated in group music activities with their caregiver and developmental responses were observed. There were two inclusive groups combining typically developing children with children considered at-risk of developmental delay due to premature birth. Eleven toddlers were observed during the first music session attended. Another 11 toddlers were observed after attendance at four to seven music sessions. The two groups were balanced for gender and matched for age at time of observation to rule out developmental differences due to chronological age. The dependent variable was a developmental checklist designed by the authors with 29 observable items including communicative, cognitive, social, motor, and music skills. Results showed that participation in four to seven music sessions significantly increased higher level developmental skills. Significantly more children in the music group demonstrated higher level music and cognitive skills than did those in the control group. Future research should pursue these findings with larger sample sizes and consider long term implications.

Walworth, D. D. (2009). Effects of Developmental Music Groups for Parents and Premature or Typical Infants Under Two Years on Parental Responsiveness and Infant Social Development. Journal of Music Therapy, 46(1), 32–52.

ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of music therapy intervention on premature infants’ and full term infants’ developmental responses and parents’ responsiveness. Subjects (n=56) were parent-infant dyads who attended developmental music groups or a control condition assessing responsiveness during toy play. All subjects were matched according to developmental age and were also matched by group for socioeconomic status and for maternal depression. Types of infant play and parent responsiveness were measured using observation of a standardized toy play for parent-infant dyads. Observations were coded with the number of seconds spent in each behavior using the SCRIBE observation program. Parents completed a questionnaire on the perception of their infant’s general development, interpretations of their child’s needs, the purpose of using music with their child, and their child’s response to music. The infants attending the developmental music groups with their parents demonstrated significantly more social toy play (p<.05) during the standardized parent-infant toy play than infants who did not attend the music groups. While not significant, graphic analysis of parent responsiveness showed parents who attended the developmental music groups engaged in more positive and less negative play behaviors with their infants than parents who did not attend the music groups. This studydemonstrates the first findings of positive effects of developmental music groups on social behaviors for both premature and full term infants under 2 years old.

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