Behavioral & Developmental Issues
Music therapy has proven to have a positive impact on a number of behavioral and developmental disorders and issues commonly seen in the school setting with adolescence, including emotional disturbances, learning disabilities, and ADHD. More specifically, researchers have found that music therapy has the capacity to significantly reduce adolescent aggression and hostility by enabling self-expression and providing a channel for transforming frustration, anger, and aggression into the experience of creativity and self-mastery.
References:
- Gold, C., Voracek, M., & Wigram, T. (2004). Effects of music therapy for children and adolescents with psychopathology: A meta-analysis. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45, 1054-1063.
- Montello, L. M., & Coons, E. E. (1998). Effect of active versus passive group music therapy on preadolescents with emotional, learning, and behavioral disorders. Journal of Music Therapy, 35, 49–67.
- Papinczak, Z., Dingle, G. A., Stoyanov, S. R., Hides, L., and Zelenko, O. (2015). Young people’s use of music for wellbeing. J. Youth Stud. 18, 1119–1134.