TY - JOUR
T1 - The Italian version of the extended Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire (eBMRQ)
T2 - a validation study and association with age, gender, and musicianship
AU - Carraturo, Giulio
AU - Ferreri, Laura
AU - Cardona, Gemma
AU - Lorenzo-Seva, Urbano
AU - Rodriguez-Fornells, Antoni
AU - Brattico, Elvira
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright 2025 Carraturo et al.
PY - 2025
Y1 - 2025
N2 - Background. Music is a primary source of pleasure for humans. Nevertheless, there is large interindividual variability in how individuals experience and derive pleasure from music and music-related activities. With this study we propose and validate the Italian version of the extended Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire (eBMRQ), the most in-depth and comprehensive tool for investigating the diverse characterization of individual sensitivity to pleasure in music. In addition, we aim to investigate eBMRQ scores as a function of age, gender, and musicianship across Italian population. Methods. For the validation process of the Italian eBMRQ, we first conducted forward and backward translation from the original English eBMRQ version. The new Italian version was then administered to 1,012 participants who were fluent in Italian from the north and the south of Italy through online surveys (age range 18–86 years old; M = 34.9, SD = 16.9, females 74%). Unrestricted confirmatory analysis was computed for both six-factor and single-factor models. The effect of gender, age, and musicianship on eBMRQ scores was analyzed through analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results. The quality assessment of the factor solution indicated that the Italian eBMRQ demonstrated acceptable quality and reliability, making it a valid tool for assessing sensitivity to music reward. All factors were significantly correlated with each other, in line with previous adaptations of the BMRQ. Our findings indicate that females reported higher music reward sensitivity compared to males, except for Social Reward subscale. Moreover, individual reward sensitivity was significantly higher among musicians and amateurs compared to non-musicians, although this trend did not emerge for Sensory-motor and Mood Regulation subscales. Also, overall musical reward sensitivity was negatively associated with age. Conclusions. The results obtained suggest the feasibility of applying the Italian version of eBMRQ as a reliable tool in the field of affective and clinical music-related research. Furthermore, the significant associations we have highlighted between eBMRQ scores, gender, age, and musicianship contribute to emphasizing the significant impact of individual factors on music reward sensitivity.
AB - Background. Music is a primary source of pleasure for humans. Nevertheless, there is large interindividual variability in how individuals experience and derive pleasure from music and music-related activities. With this study we propose and validate the Italian version of the extended Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire (eBMRQ), the most in-depth and comprehensive tool for investigating the diverse characterization of individual sensitivity to pleasure in music. In addition, we aim to investigate eBMRQ scores as a function of age, gender, and musicianship across Italian population. Methods. For the validation process of the Italian eBMRQ, we first conducted forward and backward translation from the original English eBMRQ version. The new Italian version was then administered to 1,012 participants who were fluent in Italian from the north and the south of Italy through online surveys (age range 18–86 years old; M = 34.9, SD = 16.9, females 74%). Unrestricted confirmatory analysis was computed for both six-factor and single-factor models. The effect of gender, age, and musicianship on eBMRQ scores was analyzed through analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results. The quality assessment of the factor solution indicated that the Italian eBMRQ demonstrated acceptable quality and reliability, making it a valid tool for assessing sensitivity to music reward. All factors were significantly correlated with each other, in line with previous adaptations of the BMRQ. Our findings indicate that females reported higher music reward sensitivity compared to males, except for Social Reward subscale. Moreover, individual reward sensitivity was significantly higher among musicians and amateurs compared to non-musicians, although this trend did not emerge for Sensory-motor and Mood Regulation subscales. Also, overall musical reward sensitivity was negatively associated with age. Conclusions. The results obtained suggest the feasibility of applying the Italian version of eBMRQ as a reliable tool in the field of affective and clinical music-related research. Furthermore, the significant associations we have highlighted between eBMRQ scores, gender, age, and musicianship contribute to emphasizing the significant impact of individual factors on music reward sensitivity.
KW - Individual differences
KW - Music perception
KW - Music reward
KW - Musical expertise
KW - Musical pleasure
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85219269794&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.7717/peerj.18403
DO - 10.7717/peerj.18403
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 40034666
AN - SCOPUS:85219269794
SN - 2167-8359
VL - 13
JO - PeerJ
JF - PeerJ
IS - 2
M1 - e18403
ER -