ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Hum. Neurosci.
Sec. Cognitive Neuroscience
This article is part of the Research TopicExploring the Impact of Music Interventions on Brain Function, Behavior, and HealthView all 8 articles
Effects of comprehensive group music therapy on affect and social functioning in patients with schizophrenia undergoing community-based rehabilitation: A preliminary study
Provisionally accepted
- 1The Third Hospital of Jinjiang, Quanzhou, China
- 2Quanzhou Normal University, Quanzhou, China
- 3Shihezi University, Shihezi, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Background and Objective: Most individuals with schizophrenia reside in the community, where they frequently encounter difficulties related to emotional problems and social functioning– critical areas of concern in the rehabilitation process. This study aims to investigate the effects of a comprehensive group music therapy intervention on the emotional state and social functioning of individuals with schizophrenia undergoing community rehabilitation. Methods: A total of 28 individuals with schizophrenia in community rehabilitation were randomly assigned to either the music intervention group (n = 14) or the control group (n = 14). The music intervention group participated in an 8-week comprehensive group music therapy intervention, while the control group continued with routine family life. The music therapy program was culturally adapted to the local community context, incorporating familiar regional music and dialect. The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) served as the primary outcome to assess affective changes, and the Social Disability Screening Schedule (SDSS) served as the secondary outcome to evaluate social functioning. Both measures were administered pre-and post-intervention. In addition, some participants in the intervention group completed semi-structured interviews to explore changes in social functioning and affect. Results: Following the intervention, the music therapy group showed significant improvements in positive affect, social activities and self-care, as measured by the PANAS and SDSS, respectively. In contrast, no significant pre-post changes were observed in the control group. Semi-structured interviews further supported these findings, with participants in the intervention group reporting enhanced emotional state and improved social functioning. Conclusion: Comprehensive group music therapy appears to be an effective intervention for improving emotional states and social functioning in individuals with schizophrenia engaged in community rehabilitation. This culturally adapted intervention model demonstrates its potential for broader application.
Keywords: community rehabilitation, Schizophrenia, Comprehensive group music therapy, Affect, social functioning
Received: 12 Jun 2025; Accepted: 10 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Hong, Xue, Lu, Wang, Pan and Shao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Hongrun Pan, 120432246@qq.com
Hua Shao, hdshaohua@163.com
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.