Pranav Bhatt
Independent Researcher
Gujarat, India
Abstract
Music therapy has gained recognition as an accessible, non‑invasive adjunctive intervention for mild depression, particularly among urban college students who face distinct psychosocial stressors such as intense academic competition, rapid social transitions, urban environmental pressures, and financial uncertainties. This study evaluates the efficacy of a structured, personalized music‑listening program administered over four weeks among 100 undergraduate students (65% female; mean age = 20.3 years) scoring in the mild range (14–19) on the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI‑II). Participants engaged in daily 30‑minute sessions of curated playlists—alternating between upbeat, major‑key compositions to stimulate motivation and slower, consonant pieces to facilitate relaxation—selected based on individual genre preferences determined in a preliminary survey. Pre‑ and post‑intervention assessments included the BDI‑II for depressive symptomatology and a Visual Analog Mood Scale (VAMS) rating mood on a 0–100 continuum. Analysis via paired t‑tests revealed a significant mean reduction of 5.5 points on the BDI‑II (p < .001, d = 1.85) and a mean increase of 26.6 points on the VAMS (p < .001, d = 2.10). Qualitative interviews with a subset of participants (n = 20) uncovered themes of enhanced emotional regulation, improved concentration during academic tasks, increased daily motivation, and strengthened peer support through shared musical experiences. No adverse effects were reported. These findings underscore the potential of personalized music listening as a cost‑effective, scalable self‑help intervention to ameliorate mild depressive symptoms in urban college settings, and warrant further investigation through randomized controlled trials with longer follow‑up periods.
Keywords
Music Therapy, Mild Depression, Urban College Students, Emotional Regulation, Beck Depression Inventory
References
- Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Brown, G. K. (1996). Manual for the Beck Depression Inventory–II. Psychological Corporation.
- Bradt, J., & Dileo, C. (2014). Music therapy for depression. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2014(11), CD004517.
- Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101.
- Brüst, I. (2007). Polyvagal theory and music therapy: A review of the literature. Music and Medicine, 1(2), 89–97.
- Evans, G. W. (2003). The built environment and mental health. Journal of Urban Health, 80(4), 536–555.
- Geretsegger, M., Mössler, K. A., Bieleninik, Ł., Chen, X. J., Heldal, T. O., & Gold, C. (2014). Music therapy for people with schizophrenia and schizophrenia‐like disorders. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2014(6), CD004025.
- Hallam, S., & Roholt, S. (2015). The power of music in the life of young people: The influence of musical training and social context. British Journal of Music Education, 32(2), 89–103.
- Koelsch, S. (2015). Music-evoked emotions: Principles, brain correlates, and implications for therapy. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1337(1), 193–201.
- North, A. C., Hargreaves, D. J., & O’Neill, S. A. (2000). The importance of music to adolescents. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 70(2), 255–272.
- Porges, S. W. (2007). The polyvagal perspective. Biological Psychology, 74(2), 116–143.
- Salimpoor, V. N., Benovoy, M., Larcher, K., Dagher, A., & Zatorre, R. J. (2011). Anatomically distinct dopamine release during anticipation and experience of peak emotion to music. Nature Neuroscience, 14(2), 257–262.
- Thoma, M. V., La Marca, R., Brönnimann, R., Finkel, L., Ehlert, U., & Nater, U. M. (2013). The effect of music on the human stress response. PLOS ONE, 8(8), e70156.
- Vanstone, M., & Kautz, D. (2016). Exploring music preference and mental health in university students. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 30(1), 33–46.
- Wheeler, B. L. (2015). Music therapy handbook (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.