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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Health Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1401129

Music-based therapeutic interventions for medical school students with emotional regulation and mental health: A Pre-Post Cohort Study

Provisionally accepted
Quan Chen Quan Chen 1,2Chaoqin Mao Chaoqin Mao 3Laihua Qi Laihua Qi 4Yang Luo Yang Luo 5Guangyao Yang Guangyao Yang 4Lei Wang Lei Wang 4Chen Liu Chen Liu 4Chuansheng Zheng Chuansheng Zheng 1,2*Jinxiang Zhang Jinxiang Zhang 6*Cheng Fan Cheng Fan 7*
  • 1 Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hebei Province, China
  • 2 Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan, China
  • 3 Department of Rehabilitation, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
  • 4 Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
  • 5 Department of Thoracic Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
  • 6 Department of Emergency Surgery，Union Hospital，Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
  • 7 Department of Geriatrics, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Purpose: Depression and anxiety are prevalent mental health challenges among college students. Music therapy has shown effectiveness in addressing depressive symptoms and enhancing psychosomatic functioning. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a 4-step structured music therapy program in improving mood and reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety among medical school students.The self-controlled study involved 45 medical school students (21 men and 24 women) aged 18-24 years to examine the prevalence of depression and anxiety, common mental health issues among medical school students. Participants underwent psychological assessment using the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90), Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS). An 8-week music therapy intervention, comprising four steps-sociality, interaction, music lessons, and creative expression-was administered.Results: Before-intervention, 55.6% and 15.6% students were identified as suffering from depression and anxiety respectively. Post-intervention, significant reductions in psychological distress, particularly in the Global Severity Index (GSI) and Positive Symptom Total (PST) on the SCL-90 scale, were observed (P < 0.05). Male students exhibited notable improvements in various psychological symptoms compared to females. Junior grade students demonstrated greater improvements, and clinical medicine students exhibited significant enhancements in specific areas post-intervention.The structured music therapy program showed promising results in improving mood and regulating emotions among medical school students. Music therapy holds potential as a holistic approach to address mental health challenges in this demographic.

    Keywords: Music Therapy, Medical students, Depression, Anxiety, SCL-90

    Received: 04 Apr 2024; Accepted: 14 May 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Chen, Mao, Qi, Luo, Yang, Wang, Liu, Zheng, Zhang and Fan. 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:
    Chuansheng Zheng, Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hebei Province, China
    Jinxiang Zhang, Department of Emergency Surgery，Union Hospital，Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
    Cheng Fan, Department of Geriatrics, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China

    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.