The development and face validity of the music therapy sensory instrument for cognition, consciousness, and awareness (MuSICCA)
Severe brain injuries in children and young people can result in disorders of consciousness. This can pose significant challenges for the brain injury survivor as they may struggle to show awareness; for their family, who want to help their child to recover consciousness; and for the team providing...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1441178/full |
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| author | Jonathan W. Pool Wendy L. Magee Richard J. Siegert Claire L. Wood |
| author_facet | Jonathan W. Pool Wendy L. Magee Richard J. Siegert Claire L. Wood |
| author_sort | Jonathan W. Pool |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Severe brain injuries in children and young people can result in disorders of consciousness. This can pose significant challenges for the brain injury survivor as they may struggle to show awareness; for their family, who want to help their child to recover consciousness; and for the team providing treatment and care for them, who need an assessment that will inform optimal treatment and care planning. Currently, there is a paucity of fully validated behavioral tools to assess consciousness in 2–18-year-olds. Assessing awareness across this age range is challenging and complex due to neurodevelopmental changes that occur during maturation. This study evaluated the face validity of a music-based behavioral assessment for children and young people with disorders of consciousness. This is known as the Music therapy Sensory Instrument for Cognition, Consciousness and Awareness (MuSICCA). The study recruited 20 participants to compose a mixed cohort of music therapists, non-music therapy healthcare professionals and family members with lived experience of caring for a child or young person with a disorder of consciousness. These participants reviewed the MuSICCA and evaluated its suitability as an assessment of consciousness for use with children and young people. They provided feedback by rating their level of agreement with two statements and they also described the perceived strengths and limitations of the MuSICCA. The results showed substantial agreement among raters that the MuSICCA appears to be an assessment of consciousness and awareness, and that the MuSICCA appears to be suitable for use with children and young people. Its strengths include being rigorous, comprehensive, providing guidance and opportunity for caregiver involvement, its use of salience in stimulation, and its utility in supporting the wider clinical and care teams. The findings suggest that the MuSICCA may be a valuable assessment tool in providing treatment and care for children and young people with disorders of consciousness and their families. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-204d7881d0024265af6e59bd2933ad21 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-204d7881d0024265af6e59bd2933ad212025-08-20T03:10:58ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782025-05-011610.3389/fpsyg.2025.14411781441178The development and face validity of the music therapy sensory instrument for cognition, consciousness, and awareness (MuSICCA)Jonathan W. Pool0Wendy L. Magee1Richard J. Siegert2Claire L. Wood3Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United KingdomBoyer College of Music and Dance, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United StatesDepartment of Psychology and Neuroscience, School of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Environmental Science, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New ZealandCambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United KingdomSevere brain injuries in children and young people can result in disorders of consciousness. This can pose significant challenges for the brain injury survivor as they may struggle to show awareness; for their family, who want to help their child to recover consciousness; and for the team providing treatment and care for them, who need an assessment that will inform optimal treatment and care planning. Currently, there is a paucity of fully validated behavioral tools to assess consciousness in 2–18-year-olds. Assessing awareness across this age range is challenging and complex due to neurodevelopmental changes that occur during maturation. This study evaluated the face validity of a music-based behavioral assessment for children and young people with disorders of consciousness. This is known as the Music therapy Sensory Instrument for Cognition, Consciousness and Awareness (MuSICCA). The study recruited 20 participants to compose a mixed cohort of music therapists, non-music therapy healthcare professionals and family members with lived experience of caring for a child or young person with a disorder of consciousness. These participants reviewed the MuSICCA and evaluated its suitability as an assessment of consciousness for use with children and young people. They provided feedback by rating their level of agreement with two statements and they also described the perceived strengths and limitations of the MuSICCA. The results showed substantial agreement among raters that the MuSICCA appears to be an assessment of consciousness and awareness, and that the MuSICCA appears to be suitable for use with children and young people. Its strengths include being rigorous, comprehensive, providing guidance and opportunity for caregiver involvement, its use of salience in stimulation, and its utility in supporting the wider clinical and care teams. The findings suggest that the MuSICCA may be a valuable assessment tool in providing treatment and care for children and young people with disorders of consciousness and their families.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1441178/fullMuSICCAdisorders of consciousnessmusicassessmentface validitypediatric |
| spellingShingle | Jonathan W. Pool Wendy L. Magee Richard J. Siegert Claire L. Wood The development and face validity of the music therapy sensory instrument for cognition, consciousness, and awareness (MuSICCA) Frontiers in Psychology MuSICCA disorders of consciousness music assessment face validity pediatric |
| title | The development and face validity of the music therapy sensory instrument for cognition, consciousness, and awareness (MuSICCA) |
| title_full | The development and face validity of the music therapy sensory instrument for cognition, consciousness, and awareness (MuSICCA) |
| title_fullStr | The development and face validity of the music therapy sensory instrument for cognition, consciousness, and awareness (MuSICCA) |
| title_full_unstemmed | The development and face validity of the music therapy sensory instrument for cognition, consciousness, and awareness (MuSICCA) |
| title_short | The development and face validity of the music therapy sensory instrument for cognition, consciousness, and awareness (MuSICCA) |
| title_sort | development and face validity of the music therapy sensory instrument for cognition consciousness and awareness musicca |
| topic | MuSICCA disorders of consciousness music assessment face validity pediatric |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1441178/full |
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