Musical Identity in Neurodivergent Young People

‘Musical Identity’, is offered by music psychologists as a way to conceptualise the varied roles of musical engagement in identity construction. The concept is particularly well suited to young people, who’s commitment to music and identity forming processes are at their peak. Although research has explored how healthy young people engage with music for identity purposes, little research has investigated how this may differ for those with neurodivergences such as Autism and ADHD. Mental illness is more prevalent among neurodivergent young people, and can cause major disruption to important identity construction, furthermore, recent research also suggests that young people’s musical engagement may also be impacted during periods of mental ill-health.

Music therapy in youth mental health care offers young people opportunities to explore musical engagement for health benefits, and musical identity may be important to such recovery processes.

Musical Identity and children on the autism spectrum