Music and the Teenage Mind: The Effect of Music on Adolescent Emotions and Behavior
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58445/rars.2809Keywords:
Music, Music and adolescents, Music and emotionAbstract
Music is essential to human life. Since ancient times, music has been a core part of human culture. In recent times, music has become integral to the adolescent experience. Specifically, with recent technological advances, music has become pervasive in teenagers' lives. Through music, teenagers express their emotions and beliefs. Because music is becoming more significant in adolescent life, the purpose of this study is to examine the connection between music and the teenage mind.
This research paper investigates music's primary effects on adolescents' emotion and behavior through a survey conducted through Google Forms. Building on prior research on neuroscience and different brain parts behind music processing and its influence on emotion as well as the relationship between music and behavior, as different music genres can encourage different behaviors, the current study examines music’s impact on mental health. A survey was conducted to investigate the relationship between different genres and emotions in adolescents. Results showed that genres such as classical and pop music had positive influences on adolescent emotions, while rap and rock music often had the opposite impact. Results also showed that regardless of genre, music evokes feelings of nostalgia. This paper broadens the knowledge of music’s effects on adolescents while providing information for using music to improve adolescent behavior. Findings can be used to apply music to find better mental health solutions and promote positive adolescent behavior.
References
Ahmad, N., & Rana, A. (2015). Impact of music on mood: Empirical investigation. Research on Humanities and Social Sciences. ISSN (Paper), 2224-5766.
Ballmann C. G. (2021). The Influence of Music Preference on Exercise Responses and Performance: A Review. Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology, 6(2), 33. https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk6020033
Beedie, C., Terry, P., & Lane, A. (2005). Distinctions between emotion and mood. Cognition and emotion, 19(6), 847-878.
Bowling D. L. (2023). Biological principles for music and mental health. Translational psychiatry, 13(1), 374. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-023-02671-4
Bruscia, K. E. (1987). Improvisational Models of Music Therapy. http://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA0456778X
Carboni, M. (2014). The digitization of music and the accessibility of the artist. Journal of professional communication.
Murrock, C. J., & Higgins, P. A. (2009). The theory of music, mood and movement to improve health outcomes. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 65(10), 2249–2257. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2009.05108.x
Chamorro‐Premuzic, T., & Furnham, A. (2007). Personality and music: Can traits explain how people use music in everyday life?. British journal of psychology, 98(2), 175-185.
Chen, M. J., Miller, B. A., Grube, J. W., & Waiters, E. D. (2006). Music, substance use, and aggression. Journal of studies on alcohol, 67(3), 373–381. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsa.2006.67.373
Chen, J. R. (2018). The impact of different genres of music on teenagers. Int J Psychol Stud, 10(4), 42.
Conard, N. J., Malina, M., & Münzel, S. C. (2009). New flutes document the earliest musical tradition in southwestern Germany. Nature, 460(7256), 737–740. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08169
Delsing, M. J., Ter Bogt, T. F., Engels, R. C., & Meeus, W. H. (2008). Adolescents' music preferences and personality characteristics. European Journal of Personality: Published for the European Association of Personality Psychology, 22(2), 109-130.
De Raad, B., & Mlacic, B. (2015). Big five factor model, theory and structure. International encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences, 2(2), 559-566.
De Witte, M., Pinho, A. D. S., Stams, G. J., Moonen, X., Bos, A. E., & Van Hooren, S. (2022). Music therapy for stress reduction: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Health psychology review, 16(1), 134-159.
Fischer, P., & Greitemeyer, T. (2006). Music and aggression: The impact of sexual-aggressive song lyrics on aggression-related thoughts, emotions, and behavior toward the same and the opposite sex. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32(9), 1165-1176.
Forsyth, A. J., Barnard, M., & McKeganey, N. P. (1997). Musical preference as an indicator of adolescent drug use. Addiction (Abingdon, England), 92(10), 1317–1325.
Gassner, L., Geretsegger, M., & Mayer-Ferbas, J. (2022). Effectiveness of music therapy for autism spectrum disorder, dementia, depression, insomnia and schizophrenia: update of systematic reviews. European journal of public health, 32(1), 27–34. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckab042
M. Gallagher (2011). The role of music therapy in palliative medicine and supportive care. Seminars in Oncology Nursing, 38, 403–406.
Greitemeyer, T. (2011). Exposure to music with prosocial lyrics reduces aggression: First evidence and test of the underlying mechanism. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47(1), 28-36.
Gutiérrez, E. O. F., & Camarena, V. A. T. (2015). Music therapy in generalized anxiety disorder. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 44, 19-24.
Hohmann, L., Bradt, J., Stegemann, T., & Koelsch, S. (2017). Effects of music therapy and music-based interventions in the treatment of substance use disorders: A systematic review. PloS one, 12(11), e0187363. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0187363
Ishak, M., Kim, C. J., Tay, L., Naqvi, A., & IsHak, W. W. (2024). Compositional music therapy: A systematic review of clinical trials. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 21(1), 1875-1886.
Kamioka, H., Tsutani, K., Yamada, M., Park, H., Okuizumi, H., Tsuruoka, K., ... & Mutoh, Y. (2014). Effectiveness of music therapy: a summary of systematic reviews based on randomized controlled trials of music interventions. Patient preference and adherence, 727-754.
Koelsch S. (2009). A neuroscientific perspective on music therapy. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1169, 374–384. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04592.x
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.
Koelsch S. (2011). Toward a neural basis of music perception - a review and updated model. Frontiers in psychology, 2, 110. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00110
Meadows, A., & Wimpenny, K. (2017). Core themes in music therapy clinical improvisation: An arts-informed qualitative research synthesis. The Journal of Music Therapy, 54(2), 161-195.
McCaffrey, T., Edwards, J., & Fannon, D. (2011). Is there a role for music therapy in the recovery approach in mental health?. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 38(3), 185-189.
McCraty, R., Atkinson, M., Rein, G., & Watkins, A. D. (1996). Music enhances the effect of positive emotional states on salivaryIgA. Stress Medicine, 12(3), 167-175.
McCraty, R., Barrios-Choplin, B., Atkinson, M., & Tomasino, D. (1998). The effects of different types of music on mood, tension, and mental clarity. Alternative therapies in health and medicine, 4(1), 75-84.
Meadows, A., & Wimpenny, K. (2017). Core themes in music therapy clinical improvisation: An arts-informed qualitative research synthesis. The Journal of Music Therapy, 54(2), 161-195.
Morton, S. M., & Bastian, A. J. (2004). Cerebellar control of balance and locomotion. The neuroscientist, 10(3), 247-259.
Mulder, J., Ter Bogt, T. F., Raaijmakers, Q. A., Gabhainn, S. N., Monshouwer, K., & Vollebergh, W. A. (2009). The soundtrack of substance use: Music preference and adolescent smoking and drinking. Substance Use & Misuse, 44(4), 514-531.
Peretz, I., Gagnon, L., & Bouchard, B. (1998). Music and emotion: perceptual determinants, immediacy, and isolation after brain damage. Cognition, 68(2), 111-141.
Rentfrow, P. J., & Gosling, S. D. (2003). The do re mi's of everyday life: the structure and personality correlates of music preferences. Journal of personality and social psychology, 84(6), 1236.
Rideout, V., and Robb, M. B. (2019). The Common Sense census: Media use by tweens and teens, 2019. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense Media
Rucsanda, M. (2015). The effect of various music genres on the adolescents’ emotional state. Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov, Series VIII: Performing Arts, 8(2-Suppl.), 167-176.
Saarikallio, S. H. (2008). Music in mood regulation: Initial scale development. Musicae scientiae, 12(2), 291-309.
Schwartz, K. D., & Fouts, G. T. (2003). Music preferences, personality style, and developmental issues of adolescents. Journal of youth and adolescence, 32, 205-213.
Shih, Y. N., Huang, R. H., & Chiang, H. Y. (2012). Background music: Effects on attention performance. Work, 42(4), 573-578.
Silverman, M. J., Bourdaghs, S., Abbazio, J., & Riegelman, A. (2023). A systematic review of music-induced substance craving. Musicae Scientiae, 27(1), 137-175.
Sokolowski, K., & Corbin, J. G. (2012). Wired for behaviors: from development to function of innate limbic system circuitry. Frontiers in molecular neuroscience, 5, 55.
Steffens, J. (2018). Effects of music and sound on affective, cognitive, and behavioral processes and the moderating role of person-related and situational factors [Doctoral dissertation, Technische Universität Berlin].
Stewart, L., von Kriegstein, K., Warren, J. D., & Griffiths, T. D. (2006). Music and the brain: disorders of musical listening. Brain, 129(10), 2533-2553.
Suchy, Y. (2009). Executive functioning: Overview, assessment, and research issues for non-neuropsychologists. Annals of behavioral medicine, 37(2), 106-116.
Thaut, M. H., Gardiner, J. C., Holmberg, D., Horwitz, J., Kent, L., Andrews, G., Donelan, B., & McIntosh, G. R. (2009). Neurologic music therapy improves executive function and emotional adjustment in traumatic brain injury rehabilitation. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1169, 406–416. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04585.x
Van Oosten, J. M., Peter, J., & Valkenburg, P. M. (2015). The influence of sexual music videos on adolescents’ misogynistic beliefs: The role of video content, gender, and affective engagement. Communication Research, 42(7), 986-1008.
Vuoskoski, J. K., & Eerola, T. (2012). Can sad music really make you sad? Indirect measures of affective states induced by music and autobiographical memories. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 6(3), 204.
Vuoskoski, J. K., Thompson, W. F., McIlwain, D., & Eerola, T. (2012). Who enjoys listening to sad music and why? Music Perception, 29(3), 311-317. https://doi.org/10.1525/mp.2012.29.3.311
Vuust, P., Heggli, O. A., Friston, K. J., & Kringelbach, M. L. (2022). Music in the brain. Nature reviews. Neuroscience, 23(5), 287–305. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41583-022-00578-5
Zhou, L., Yang, Y., & Li, S. (2022). Music-induced emotions influence intertemporal decision making. Cognition and Emotion, 36(2), 211-229.
Downloads
Posted
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Amber Randolph

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.