Understanding Music Participation for Adults With Down Syndrome

Adults with Down syndrome are living longer and have high risk of experiencing Alzheimer's disease as they age. With few services available, music is a promising modality that has been shown to support cognitive functioning. This study reported on the frequency of music participation for adults with Down syndrome and explored associations of age, race and level of intellectual disability with music participation.

The research team administered a survey to care partners of adults with Down syndrome (n = 27) that measured music participation in terms of 'listening' and 'playing' using the Guernsey Community Participation and Leisure Assessment.

44.4% of care partners reported providing over 50 h of care a week. 92.6% of adults with Down syndrome listened to music, and 33.3% played music either weekly or daily. 74.1% of care partners reported that adults with Down syndrome could listen to music unaccompanied, and 48.2% of care partners reported that adults with Down syndrome could play music unaccompanied. A statistically significant association was found between race and playing music.

Knowing that multiracial adults with Down syndrome had a higher frequency in playing music, a potent future research direction is better understanding the musical needs and preferences of these diverse adults. Broadly, those developing services and supports could consider utilizing music as a meaningful activity that does not add care partner burden.

University of Pittsburgh's Institutional Review Board: 22080146.