The Contribution of Mood Regulation through Music Listening, Successful Aging and their Interaction to Positive Solitude at the Second Half of Life

Solitude as a positive mental state with the potential to improve adolescents'/emerging adults' wellbeing is beginning to develop. However, there are relatively few studies addressing positive solitude in older adults, and none which have examine its association to successful aging. This is surprising when considering the time older adults spend alone. Moreover, while the importance of listening to music as a mean for mood regulation has been widely acknowledged, as well as the importance of music to seniors, it's contribution to positive solitude has not been studied. Hence, the current study explored these associations, along with a possible moderation of successful aging on the mood regulation (via-music) and positive solitude association. Community-dwelling older adults (N= 127; age range=41-90, mean age=67.55, SD=12.05), provided demographic data, and completed questionnaires measuring positive solitude, mood regulation through music and successful aging. Hierarchical regression analysis demonstrated that mood regulation (via-music) and successful aging contributed to positive solitude. Further analysis revealed that the association of mood regulation to PS only existed amongst older adults with low successful aging, but not amongst those with high successful aging. Results were reconstructed after controlling for demographics. Positive solitude during the second half of life may be enhanced by mood regulation through music listening. Future studies using longitudinal study designs can examine PS by applying interventions aimed at improving mood regulation via music listening, and focus on individuals who report less successful aging.