Mental health and music engagement: review, framework, and guidelines for future studies

Is engaging with music good for your mental health? This question has long been the topic of empirical clinical and nonclinical investigations, with studies indicating positive associations between music engagement and quality of life, reduced depression or anxiety symptoms, and less frequent substa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Translational psychiatry 2021-06, Vol.11 (1), p.370-13, Article 370
Main Authors: Gustavson, Daniel E., Coleman, Peyton L., Iversen, John R., Maes, Hermine H., Gordon, Reyna L., Lense, Miriam D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
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692/699/476
Anxiety
Behavioral Sciences
Biological Psychology
Drug use
Humans
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Mental Disorders - therapy
Mental Health
Music
Music Therapy
Neurosciences
Pharmacotherapy
Psychiatry
Psychopathology
Quality of Life
Review
Review Article
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Summary:Is engaging with music good for your mental health? This question has long been the topic of empirical clinical and nonclinical investigations, with studies indicating positive associations between music engagement and quality of life, reduced depression or anxiety symptoms, and less frequent substance use. However, many earlier investigations were limited by small populations and methodological limitations, and it has also been suggested that aspects of music engagement may even be associated with worse mental health outcomes. The purpose of this scoping review is first to summarize the existing state of music engagement and mental health studies, identifying their strengths and weaknesses. We focus on broad domains of mental health diagnoses including internalizing psychopathology (e.g., depression and anxiety symptoms and diagnoses), externalizing psychopathology (e.g., substance use), and thought disorders (e.g., schizophrenia). Second, we propose a theoretical model to inform future work that describes the importance of simultaneously considering music-mental health associations at the levels of (1) correlated genetic and/or environmental influences vs. (bi)directional associations, (2) interactions with genetic risk factors, (3) treatment efficacy, and (4) mediation through brain structure and function. Finally, we describe how recent advances in large-scale data collection, including genetic, neuroimaging, and electronic health record studies, allow for a more rigorous examination of these associations that can also elucidate their neurobiological substrates.
ISSN:2158-3188
2158-3188
DOI:10.1038/s41398-021-01483-8