Secure adult attachment to fathers’ and students’ perceptions of shared reasons for musical engagement

Music can be used as a tool for exploring, learning, and coping with our environment. Moreover, research suggests that parent–child shared participation in music may promote enduring secure attachments. Consequently, we tested whether there is a relationship between secure adult attachment to fathers and perceptions of shared reasons for musical engagement (identity, coping, learning, relationships, time, and relaxation). University students completed a measure of adult attachment to fathers and a measure of reasons for musical engagement for both self and father. Multiple regression indicated that sharing reasons for engagement in music between participant and father was associated with a more secure attachment between those two people. There were no differences in this finding when comparing responses by participant gender identification. As engaging in music is related to attachment to fathers, clinical interventions to promote secure adult attachment to fathers could be grounded in father–child shared musical engagement experiences.