Music and Addiction
The development of Music Addiction Scale (MAS)

Abstract

Studies have reported cases of addictive dependency on musical behaviours. Although these investigated specific musical behaviours patterns, no instrument has been designed for a generic assessment of addictive music dependency. This study aims to develop a new instrument for assessing the addictiveness of generic engagement with music. This instrument, called Music Addiction Scale (MAS), is a comprehensive measurement instrument for detecting potential addictiveness and high engagement of generic engagement with music. Twenty-eight items in the MAS were adapted based on the literature and an online survey conducted with a sample with a range of cultural and national backgrounds. The structure of the MAS was investigated through exploratory factor analyses (EFA) and correlations between factors and
other variables. The original MAS was revised to 20 items based on the results of these analyses. The trimmed MAS has ten items each for the addictive core criteria and engagement core criteria. Cronbach’s alpha for the MAS was 0.93, and the concurrent of the addictive core criteria and the engagement core criteria was supported by loading scores to the factor structure and
correlation scores to the addictive and high engagement phenomena. The MAS is a promising measurement instrument for assessing addictive dependency based on generic musical habits.