The potential of music in the post COVID-19 pandemic realities of mothers in South Jersey

The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to explore the experiences of adult women who are mothers from south Jersey neighborhoods and how their involvement in group music experiences might contribute to their everyday life. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, women who are mothers have experienced unfavorable outcomes in health and wellbeing domains and need psychological and emotional health resources related to post pandemic conditions. There remains a gap in understanding how community-based programs can effectively support mothers’ wellbeing in the post-pandemic context. This study was informed by constructs including the social construction of motherhood, the sociology of music, feminist and matricentric feminist theory and community music therapy. Five women who identify as mothers served as the participants. They engaged in a series of in-person, co-created group music experiences (GMEs). These GMEs centered participants’ music preferences and provided opportunities to engage in shared novel or familiar music experiences. Data collection occurred via group verbal processing after participation in GMEs, audio diary submissions in the days after the GMEs, and a culminating focus group interview. Reflexive thematic analysis featured iterative phases of in vivo, open, and simultaneous coding to center the participants’ voices. The research findings illuminated the importance of temporality of participants’ musical identity in earlier, current and projected future life phases. Two categories emerged: The first category, Music as an Experience of Identities Now, encompassed five themes, and the second category, Music as a Bridge to and From Life Phases and Identities encompassed three themes. The categories and their themes contribute a nuanced understanding of the meaning and value that mothers may ascribe to participating in facilitated live music experiences and related discussions. The discussion explores dimensions of: participants experiences during the GME, the researcher’s critical reflexive process, and integrates relevant theoretical frameworks of matricentric feminism (O’Reilly, 2016), music as technology of self (DeNora, 2000), nepantla (Anzaldúa, 1987) and small stories (Georgakopoulou, 2006). Implications for future music therapy research and clinical practice are discussed and recommendations for integrating music programming for general community members are provided.

Grantor dc:publisher

Temple University. Libraries

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Gravish, Jennifer L.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Shoemark, Helen

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Magee, Wendy
• Zanders, Michael L.
• Bond, Karen E.
• Goldin-Perschbacher, Shana

• Music therapy
• Sociology
• Critical reflexivity
• Matricentric feminism
• Music and sociology

Statement dc:rights

• IN COPYRIGHT- This Rights Statement can be used for an Item that is in copyright. Using this statement implies that the organization making this Item available has determined that the Item is in copyright and either is the rights-holder, has obtained permission from the rights-holder(s) to make their Work(s) available, or makes the Item available under an exception or limitation to copyright (including Fair Use) that entitles it to make the Item available.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Repository record dc:identifier.uri

https://scholarshare.temple.edu/handle/20.500.12613/12137

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarshare.temple.edu:20.500.12613/12137