Investigating the health and wellbeing of music students: Perspectives from schools of music in Switzerland and the UK

Abstract

It is a strange paradox that whilst music is increasingly considered an important part of health and wellbeing, musicians themselves endure physical and psychological challenges within a competitive industry. We compared music student wellbeing in two higher education schools of music; one in the UK, the other in Switzerland, to explore cultural similarities and differences. The study was completed in German (78%) and English (22%) via an online survey and hard copy using a range of psychometric measures. When using the WHO QoL BREF, we found both schools scored lower than norms for physical and psychological health ( p < .001), but higher than norms for social relations ( p < .01) and the Swiss school also for the environment ( p < .001). Self-efficacy predicted physical health (12.3%) whilst psychological health was predicted by self-efficacy and fixed mindset (23.1%). 95% of participants stated that their institution was at least 20% responsible for the wellbeing. This study suggested more similarities than differences between schools of music in different countries in terms of student wellbeing. Whilst physical and psychological health remain risk areas for musicians, the environment and social culture of the school plays an important supportive role in wellbeing and should be considered when preparing music students for professional life.