
Choral singing and psychological wellbeing: Quantitative and qualitative findings from English choirs in a cross-national survey
Over 600 choral singers drawn from English choirs completed the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire to measure physical, psychological, social and environmental wellbeing, and a twelve-item wellbeing and choral singing scale. They also provided accounts of the effects of choral singing on quality
of life, wellbeing and physical health in response to open questions. High average scores were found on all WHOQOL-BREF scales, and a high degree of consensus emerged on the positive benefits of choral singing. A significant sex difference was found on the choral singing scale, with women
endorsing the wellbeing effects of singing more strongly than men. This finding replicates the earlier result reported by Clift & Hancox (2001) in a pilot study with a single choral society. Low correlations were found between the WHOQOL-BREF psychological wellbeing scale and perceptions
of wellbeing associated with singing. However, examination of written accounts to open questions from participants with relatively low psychological wellbeing and strong perceptions of positive benefits associated with choral singing served to identify four categories of significant personal
and health challenges. They also revealed six generative mechanisms by which singing may impact on wellbeing and health.
No Reference information available - sign in for access.
No Citation information available - sign in for access.
No Supplementary Data.
No Article Media
No Metrics
Keywords: WHOQOL-BREF; choral singing; cross-national survey; psychological wellbeing
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: 1: Canterbury Christ Church University. 2: Carl von Ossietzky University. 3: Griffith University.
Publication date: January 1, 2010
- The Journal of Applied Arts and Health serves a wide community of artists, researchers, practitioners and policy-makers evidencing the effectiveness of the interdisciplinary use of arts in health and arts for health. It provides a forum for the publication and debate within an interdisciplinary field of arts in healthcare and health promotion. The journal defines 'health' broadly which includes physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, occupational, social and community health.
- Editorial Board
- Information for Authors
- Subscribe to this Title
- Intellect Books page
- Ingenta Connect is not responsible for the content or availability of external websites