Reliability and validity of the Meaningfulness of Songwriting Scale with university students taking a popular songwriting class

Background: Songwriting is emerging as a popular activity for use
in therapeutic contexts suggested. Our study tested the properties
of the Meaningfulness of Songwriting Scale (MSS) with university
students studying songwriting, to determine its validity and reliability
in measuring the extent of meaning derived from the songwriting
process. Method: Participants completed the MSS, Short State Flow
Scale, and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale immediately following their
creation and performance of an original song. Seven days later,
participants completed the MSS second time. Results: Analyses were
performed and findings indicated that the measure has good content
validity, strong internal consistency, acceptable test–retest reliability,
limits of agreement, measurement error, and discriminant validity.
Convergent validity was weaker than the other measurement property
results. Conclusions: The MMS has adequate measurement properties
for use with university students and may be utilized to further our
understanding of the process and outcomes of this emerging, and
potentially highly beneficial, music therapy strategy. Future research
should seek to further investigate the psychometric properties of
these instruments across different populations and contexts.