ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Moving overseas to study can be exciting, however many international students find this transition stressful. Therefore, empirically supported strategies to assist with managing stress and supporting well-being are needed. Motivated music listening is an effective stress management strategy, and is linked with international student well-being. Tuned In is a group program designed to increase emotion awareness and regulation using motivated music listening. METHODS AND MEASURES: We evaluated a 4-session online version of Tuned In for motivated music use, emotion regulation, and well-being in international students. The study used a 2 (Treatment; Waitlist) x 3 (timepoints: pre = T1; +4 weeks = T2; +8 weeks = T3) randomised controlled cross-over design. Treatment participants (n = 23) completed Tuned In between T1 and T2, Waitlist participants (n = 27) completed Tuned In between T2 and T3. RESULTS: Between T1 and T2, motivated music use increased in Treatment participants but not for the Waitlist. Treatment participants were also more confident in maintaining happiness and in having healthy ways of managing emotions at T2. All participants enjoyed Tuned In. CONCLUSIONS: Tuned In, a group-based music listening program, even when delivered online, provides benefits for international students. With student well-being at risk as they begin university, enjoyable programs that help develop skills for students' academic journey should be a priority.
ABSTRACT
Background: This scoping review analyzed research about how music activities may affect participants' health and well-being. Primary outcomes were measures of health (including symptoms and health behaviors) and well-being. Secondary measures included a range of psychosocial processes such as arousal, mood, social connection, physical activation or relaxation, cognitive functions, and identity. Diverse music activities were considered: receptive and intentional music listening; sharing music; instrument playing; group singing; lyrics and rapping; movement and dance; and songwriting, composition, and improvisation. Methods: Nine databases were searched with terms related to the eight music activities and the psychosocial variables of interest. Sixty-three papers met selection criteria, representing 6,975 participants of all ages, nationalities, and contexts. Results: Receptive and intentional music listening were found to reduce pain through changes in physiological arousal in some studies but not others. Shared music listening (e.g., concerts or radio programs) enhanced social connections and mood in older adults and in hospital patients. Music listening and carer singing decreased agitation and improved posture, movement, and well-being of people with dementia. Group singing supported cognitive health and well-being of older adults and those with mental health problems, lung disease, stroke, and dementia through its effects on cognitive functions, mood, and social connections. Playing a musical instrument was associated with improved cognitive health and well-being in school students, older adults, and people with mild brain injuries via effects on motor, cognitive and social processes. Dance and movement with music programs were associated with improved health and well-being in people with dementia, women with postnatal depression, and sedentary women with obesity through various cognitive, physical, and social processes. Rapping, songwriting, and composition helped the well-being of marginalized people through effects on social and cultural inclusion and connection, self-esteem and empowerment. Discussion: Music activities offer a rich and underutilized resource for health and well-being to participants of diverse ages, backgrounds, and settings. The review provides preliminary evidence that particular music activities may be recommended for specific psychosocial purposes and for specific health conditions.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic brought rapid changes to travel, learning environments, work conditions, and social support, which caused stress for many University students. Research with young people has revealed music listening to be among their most effective strategies for coping with stress. As such, this survey of 402 first-year Australian University students (73.9% female, M age = 19.6; 75% domestic and 25% international) examined the effectiveness of music listening during COVID-19 compared with other stress management strategies, whether music listening for stress management was related to well-being, and whether differences emerged between domestic and international students. We also asked participants to nominate a song that helped them to cope with COVID-19 stress and analyzed its features. Music listening was among the most effective stress coping strategies, and was as effective as exercise, sleep, and changing location. Effectiveness of music listening as a coping strategy was related to better well-being but not to level of COVID-19 related stress. Although international students experienced higher levels of COVID-19 stress than domestic students, well-being was comparable in the two cohorts. Nominated songs tended to be negative in valence and moderate in energy. No correlations were found between any self-report measure and the valence and energy of nominated coping songs. These findings suggest that although domestic and international students experienced different levels of stress resulting from COVID-19, music listening remained an effective strategy for both cohorts, regardless of the type of music they used for coping.
ABSTRACT
Previous research on the development of emotion recognition in music has focused on classical, rather than popular music. Such research does not consider the impact of lyrics on judgements of emotion in music, impact that may differ throughout development. We had 172 children, adolescents, and adults (7- to 20-year-olds) judge emotions in popular music. In song excerpts, the melody of the music and the lyrics had either congruent valence (e.g. happy lyrics and melody), or incongruent valence (e.g. scared lyrics, happy melody). We also examined participants' judgements of vocal bursts, and whether emotion identification was linked to emotion lexicon. Recognition of emotions in congruent music increased with age. For incongruent music, age was positively associated with judging the emotion in music by the melody. For incongruent music with happy or sad lyrics, younger participants were more likely to answer with the emotion of the lyrics. For scared incongruent music, older adolescents were more likely to answer with the lyrics than older and younger participants. Age groups did not differ on their emotion lexicons, nor recognition of emotion in vocal bursts. Whether children use lyrics or melody to determine the emotion of popular music may depend on the emotion conveyed.