Alleviating anxiety: The role of music education in schools

By Dr. Priyom Bose, Ph.D.Reviewed by Benedette Cuffari, M.Sc.Aug 28 2024

Study: Evaluating music education interventions for mental health in Chinese university student: A dual fuzzy analytic method. Image Credit: franz12 / Shutterstock.com

"Mental health problems, especially anxiety and depression, have become a serious point of concern in university life. Music education was identified as a potential intervention that could help alleviate these problems."

A recent Scientific Reports journal study evaluates whether music education strategies can alleviate anxiety and depression in students.

Addressing anxiety and depression in students

Students are often subjected to significant stress due to academic pressure, competitive grading systems, and high expectations from family and society. This pressure can lead to fear of failure, sleepless nights, and unhealthy behaviors, such as substance abuse. Non-academic pressures related to adjusting to university life can also adversely impact mental and emotional well-being.

Anxiety and depression have long-term adverse effects on an individual’s social relationships and career prospects. Previous research has shown that music may help mitigate symptoms of these mental health disorders.

It is imperative to identify effective interventions to alleviate both anxiety and depression, as well as clarify the impact of music education as a non-pharmacological approach.

About the study

The current study utilized the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (Fuzzy TOPSIS) to assess issues associated with psychological anxiety and depression. The study results were compared to those from other fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods to demonstrate the superiority of FAHP and TOPSIS.

Fuzzy TOPSIS utilizes fuzziness in both the performance ratings and criteria weights to ensure a holistic evaluation. The FAHP method offers an effective way to determine the weights of various factors contributing to depression and anxiety.

Fuzzy TOPSIS was used to complement FAHP and determine the efficacy of music education interventions. TOPSIS's robust ranking mechanism, coupled with FAHP's detailed weighting process, augmented the reliability and accuracy of the evaluation process.

Study findings

In the FAHP procedure, mental health stigma was identified as the most significant concern among students. This observation emphasizes the importance of support systems and open discussions in the education system.

Following mental health stigma, other important factors included academic pressures, rigidity, and cultural factors, thus suggesting the important role of cultural expectations and the educational system’s demands in contributing to anxiety. Financial stress, parental expectations, and social relationships were identified as other factors that negatively impact well-being.

The global weights analysis identified competitive grading systems, conformity, constant worry, identity and self-worth, and saving face as additional factors that impact well-being in decreasing order. The study participants also reported cultural norms, stigma, shame, and societal expectations.

The fuzzy TOPSIS analysis ranked six critical solutions for student psychological issues. Music appreciation and music-based self-care were the most preferred solutions reported in 38 focus groups. These activities include attending music events, listening to music, and using music as a form of stress relief.

Other notable solutions included music instruction, expressive arts, music composition, and group music-making. These activities could help build a supportive community, generate a sense of accomplishment, and offer a constructive outlet for emotions, particularly for high-risk students.

The middle range of the solution spectrum was music meditation, which involves calming the mind with music and engaging in music-related activities. These solutions were found to be effective, though to a lesser extent than the aforementioned solutions. The least effective solution was interdisciplinary collaboration.

Future outlook

The current study has some limitations that prevent the generalizability of the findings, both in the Chinese population and elsewhere. For example, the small sample size of the 38 focus groups may not accurately represent university students' views.

The current study also fails to capture the rich diversity related to cultural backgrounds, institutions, and regions. The small sample size may also limit the statistical power to estimate smaller variations or effects.

The specific cultural context and university environment may not reflect other diverse populations and settings. Importantly, Chinese higher education is characterized by significant societal expectations, intense academic demands, and competitive grading. Thus, this type of environment may not be present in other countries and educational contexts.

Future studies should include more diverse student populations and examine the long-term effects of these musical interventions. The efficacy of these interventions should also be studied while considering other factors that affect well-being, such as individual coping capacities and extracurricular activities.

Conclusions

The study findings suggest that the most promising solutions for overcoming anxiety and depression involve directly engaging students in music-related activities, which could be through creation, appreciation, or meditation. Indirect and collaborative approaches were found to be less effective.

These observations could also inform educational institutions that are devising policies to support the mental well-being of students.