The present study investigated different types of participation in the musical arts and linked them to selfrated mental and physical health. Of central interest was whether such participation mediated or moderated links between race/ethnicity and health. The work was conducted with a subsample (N = 2,157) of the Midlife in the United States Refresher study who completed a self-administered questionnaire about the arts in 2021–2022 (63.5% response rate). Assessments included various forms of active music engagement as well as receptive music appreciation. Overall, Black participants were more engaged in a variety of music and performance (singing, dancing, and creating) than White participants. Black participants also consumed (appreciated) more jazz, salsa, theatre, and dance than White participants. Hispanic participants showed generally similar patterns of music appreciation as Black participants. Mediation analyses showed that the higher active music engagement of Black compared to White individuals was linked with better mental and physical health. Higher receptive music appreciation was not a mediator of race differences in mental and physical health, and there was no support for moderation effects. Overall, the findings draw attention to race/ethnicity in considering how participation in the musical arts matters for health and underscore the need for more diverse measures of arts participation, along with quality assessments of mental and physical health tracked longitudinally.
本研究考察了音乐艺术参与的不同类型，并分析其与个体自评心理健康和身体健康之间的关系。研究的核心关注点在于：此类艺术参与是否在种族/族裔与健康之间的关联中发挥中介作用或调节作用。本研究基于“美国中年生活更新研究”（Midlife in the United States Refresher study）中的一个子样本开展，共有 N=2,157 名参与者在2021—2022年完成了一份关于艺术参与的自填式问卷，回应率为63.5%。测量内容包括多种形式的主动性音乐参与，以及接受性的音乐欣赏活动。结果显示，总体而言，黑人参与者在多种音乐与表演活动中的参与程度高于白人参与者，包括歌唱、舞蹈和创作等主动性音乐参与形式。与此同时，黑人参与者在爵士乐、萨尔萨、戏剧和舞蹈等艺术形式的消费（即欣赏）水平也高于白人参与者。西班牙裔参与者在音乐欣赏方面的模式总体上与黑人参与者相似。中介分析结果表明，与白人相比，黑人个体更高水平的主动性音乐参与与其更好的心理健康和身体健康相关。然而，更高水平的接受性音乐欣赏并未在种族差异与心理、身体健康之间发挥中介作用，研究也未发现调节效应的证据。总体而言，本研究提示，在考察音乐艺术参与如何影响健康时，应重视种族/族裔因素的作用；同时也强调，未来研究有必要采用更加多样化的艺术参与测量方式，并结合对心理与身体健康质量的纵向追踪评估。
