Music and People With Tendencies to Depression

Journal

Music Perception

Year

2015

Volume

32

Issue

4

First Page

313

Last Page

321

Abstract

Depression is often associated with a reduced motivation to engage in behavior that will improve one's mood. This paper presents a study in which 175 university students listened to a self-selected piece of music on Youtube that made them sad. Post- and pre-listening scores of depressed mood on the Profile of Mood States (POMS) were taken, as were measures of rumination and scores on the Like Sad Music Scale (LSMS). Results indicate that listening to sad music via this medium can significantly increase feelings of depression in people with a tendency to depression (as suggested by high rumination scores). Furthermore, people with a tendency to depression demonstrate a liking for such music despite the potentially unhealthy consequences of listening to it.

Music and Health Institute Terms

Depressions; Mood; Mood Scales; Music Listening; Recorded Music Listening

Indexed Terms

Emotions; Motivation; Mental depression; University students; Student behavior; College students; Listening

Study Type

Case Study; Qualitative Methods

Disciplines

Psychiatry and Psychology

Document Type

Article

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