Functional music skills of persons with mental retardation

This study was conducted to: (1) derive and validate a comprehensive list of functional music skills for persons with mental retardation; (2) determine the frequency of functional music skills demonstrated by persons with mild, moderate and severe/profound mental retardation; (3) compare the difference in the mean number of functional music skills demonstrated by persons with mild, moderate and severe/profound mental retardation; (4) determine if the relationship between level of mental retardation and the number of functional music skills remained constant across sex, severity of problem behavior and site of residence; and (5) determine if a relationship existed between the total number of functional music skills demonstrated by persons with mental retardation and personal variables of sex, severity of problem behavior, level of mental retardation and site of residence.;An environmental assessment process was used to derive conditions for music participation and functional music skills which were then validated by subject matter experts and incorporated into the Functional Music Participation Survey (FMPS). Over a 6-month period, staff members working in day treatment and residential programs for adults with mental retardation completed the FMPS on 120 assigned persons from their caseloads. Responses to 9 questions were analyzed using descriptive statistics, analyses of variance and multiple regression analysis.;Data analysis supported the following conclusions: (1) Persons with milder levels of mental retardation demonstrated more functional music listening skills than did persons with more severe levels of mental retardation. (2) Persons with severe/profound mental retardation demonstrated fewer functional music performance and total skills than did persons with mild and moderate mental retardation. The difference in the number of functional music performance and total skills demonstrated by persons with mild and moderate mental retardation was minimal. (3) The relationship between the number of functional music skills and level of mental retardation remained constant across sex, severity of problem behavior and site of residence. (4) Females demonstrated more functional music performance skills than did males. The difference in the number of functional music listening and total skills between males and females was minimal. (5) Persons with mental retardation in large urban areas demonstrated more functional music listening and total skills than did persons with mental retardation in small urban and rural areas. Persons with mental retardation in large urban areas and small urban areas demonstrated more functional music performance skills than did persons with mental retardation in rural areas. (6) Level of mental retardation and site of residence were the primary variables affecting the number of functional music skills.