The Impact of Group Music Therapy on Negative Affect of People With Co-occurring Substance Use Disorders and Mental Illnesses

Journal

Music Therapy Perspectives

Year

2013

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of group music therapy on levels of self-reported negative affect (NA) among men and women on a residential unit of an integrated dual diagnosis treatment program. More specifically, we sought to determine if, and to what degree engagement in composition, receptive (listening), re-creation (performing), and improvisation experiences would result in a shift - namely, a decrease - in the intensity of self-reported NA. Participants were adults in residential treatment who had been diagnosed with co-occurring substance use disorders (SUD) and mental illnesses (MI), predominantly mood and anxiety disorders. Twenty group-music-therapy sessions were held on the unit. Three researcher-developed visual analogue scales were used to assess pre and postsession levels of anxiety, anger, and sadness. In total, 89 surveys were analyzed. Results indicate that nearly a third of the participants who were involved in the treatment groups reported a decrease in anxiety, sadness, and anger combined, with more than half of the responses in each of these three emotional states indicating a decrease. While these are encouraging results, generalization of findings is limited primarily by the use of a nonstandardized measurement tool, the absence of a control group, the possibility of intentional deceit, and the potential for researcher bias in the collection and compilation of the data. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

Music and Health Institute Terms

Anger; Anxiety; Anxiety Scales; Drug Use, Abuse and Addiction; Improvisation; Inpatient Rehabilitation; Mental Health; Mood; Mood Scales; Music Listening; Music Medicine; Questionnaires; Recorded Music Listening; Recreative Music Methods; Sadness; Self-Concept; Self-Report Measures; Substance Use, Abuse and Addiction; Visual Analog Scale (VAS)

Indexed Terms

Drug abuse; Data Collection; Case studies; Polls and Surveys; Statistical Analysis

Study Type

Case Study; Qualitative Methods

Document Type

Article

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