Developing a self-rated instrument of work-related well-being for music therapy professionals

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to design an assessment instrument of work-related well-being for music therapy professionals. An interview method was applied to construct a conceptual theory based on the data collected from seven music therapy professionals with diverse backgrounds. An on-line survey of work-related well-being, which contained 54 five points Likert-type items, was derived through analyzing the contents of the interviews. Four hundred ninety-three music therapy professionals in the US were randomly selected to participate in the survey, and 157 responded (respond rate 32 %). Among them, 117 samples were determined to be valid for use in the factor analysis. Factor analysis revealed five factors of work-related well-being for music therapy professionals, including work satisfaction, stressors, self-awareness, work demands, and self-care skills. Statistical techniques, namely Pearson correlation, independent t-test and one-way ANOVA, were used to determine the impact of work years, education levels, and salaries on perception of work-related well-being. The results showed that music therapy professionals reported satisfaction both in their overall feeling of work-related well-being and combined factor scores. Also, the combined factor scores positively correlated to overall scale of work-related well-being. The experienced music therapy professionals have significantly higher combined factor scores of work-related well-being than do novice music therapy professionals. In addition, education levels do not show statistically significant differences on the combined factor scores of work-related well-being. Finally, salary levels do not exhibit statistically significant impact on factor scores of work-related well-being, though the p-value is much smaller (p = .105). Analysis of seven interviews and psychometric methods were applied to verify the validity and reliability of the resultant assessment instrument. Suggestions for future use of the instrument are also provided.