Contributions of Musical Education to the development of the Multidimensional Self-concept in adolescence according to gender

Abstract

Multidimensional self-concept can vary depending on to age and gender in adolescence. It is related to a variety of academic aspects and to learning music, both of which are linked to school performance. The aims of the present study were to measure Multidimensional self-concept in a group of adolescents, carry out a comparison of young musicians and non-musicians, and examine the impact of musical practice on Multidimensional self-concept by gender. The sample consisted of 409 adolescent lower-secondary students in Valencia between 11 and 16 years old (205 girls and 204 boys). Some of them were studying music at the Conservatory of Music, and others had not previously studied music. To collect the data, we used an ad hoc sociodemographic questionnaire and the Dimensional Self-Concept Questionnaire by Fernández-Zabala. After performing the relevant analyses, and in line with previous studies, the results showed significant gender and age differences. However, the most important findings of the research were, on the one hand, that there were significant differences in Multidimensional self-concept between musicians adolescents and non-musicians and, on the other, that the positive and significant effect on musicians’ Multidimensional self-concept occurred equally in all of them, regardless of their gender, revealling that music exerted the same significantly positive influence on subjets whether they were boys or girls.