Effect of a musical instrument performance program on emotional intelligence,anxiety,and aggression in Korean elementary school children

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a musical instrument performance program on emotional intelligence, anxiety, and aggression in Korean elementary school children. A quasi-experimental study design was employed, in which the experimental group (n = 30) received a weekly group musical instrument performance class with a regular music class, and the control group (n = 30) received only a regular music class that is part of the elementary school curriculum. We measured emotional intelligence, anxiety, and aggression at the beginning and end of the 24-week intervention using the Emotional Intelligence Scale, the Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Aggression Scale. The musical instrument performance program improved the ability to perceive emotions, and reduced physical and verbal aggression, but had no statistically significant effect on the level of total emotional intelligence, anxiety, or aggression.

Keywords

aggression anxiety elementary school children emotional intelligence musical instrument performance program

Aggressive and violent behaviours in children and adolescents have become major public health and social issues in South Korea and elsewhere. Such behaviours may be especially prevalent during adolescence, but in many cases, the roots of aggression can be traced back to childhood (Kim & Kim, 2008). Thus, many studies have examined the factors related to aggressive or violent behaviours in children and adolescents. In particular, Korean children and adolescents are subject to psychological pressures arising from the strict educational system and competitive school environment. Accumulated psychological stress may lead to deviant behaviours, such as smoking, drinking alcohol, early sexual experimentation, running away, watching pornography, and inappropriate and/or excessive use of internet activities. To deal with school-related stresses, some adolescents engage in computer games and online chatting, and seek sensation through videos and movies that feature sex and violence. Although empirical evidence suggests that schools do not directly cause the development of problem behaviours, poor school function appears to correlate with behavioural problems (Kim & Kim, 2008). Korean schools are structured around strict norms, rigid schedules, and place huge emphasis on achieving grades that allow admission to a high-ranked university. The highly structured environment and fear of failure in such schools may make certain students feel anxious, depressed, nervous, or even bored (Lee & Larson, 2000).

In response, many professionals have developed programs to manage aggression in children and adolescents to enable them to more effectively cope with stress. However, the programs developed to date have yielded only limited benefits in reducing aggression and stress in children and adolescents (Kim, 2004). The currently accepted interventions or programs for aggression include behavioural techniques that aim to reduce impulsive behaviour, such as anger management techniques, drama therapy, music therapy, art therapy, and dance therapy (Smeijsters & Cleven, 2006). Among these interventions, musical activities particularly have long been thought to influence emotions and emotional control (Moore, 2013), and have been proposed as an option for controlling aggression (Choi, Lee, & Lee, 2010). Similarly, meta-analyses have found that musical activities can be used as an effective intervention for children and adolescents with psychopathology (Gold, Voracek, & Wigram, 2004). Moreover, such activities can be easily incorporated into a wide variety of educational and therapeutic settings (Standley, 1996). Studies in adults found that participating in musical activities can enhance an individual’s sense of control over his/her emotions, especially aggression and anger, through emotional catharsis (Lippin & Micozzi, 2006). Moreover, a study in children found that those who listen to music showed significantly improved results on the aggression/hostility scale of Achenbach’s Teacher’s Report Form (Montello & Coons, 1999). This suggests that group music intervention could potentially facilitate self-expression and provide a channel through which children can transform frustration, anger, and aggression into an experience of creativity and self-mastery. The incorporation of music into the classroom may also provide other benefits. For example, previous studies showed that music intervention can help children express their thoughts and feelings, can reduce anxiety, and can be especially helpful in children with behavioural/emotional disabilities or neurological disorders (Hernandez-Ruiz, 2005; Knight & Rickard, 2001).

Emotional and psychosocial benefits of music intervention

Research in the past few decades has examined the effect of music intervention on diverse outcomes, such as reducing anxiety (Hernandez-Ruiz, 2005; Kain et al., 2004), stress (Lindblad, Hogmark, & Theorell, 2007; Pelletier, 2004), anger, aggression, and agitation (Choi et al., 2010; Smeijsters & Cleven, 2006), and improving mood states (Saarikallio & Erkkila, 2007). Other studies have examined the use of music intervention as a psychotherapeutic strategy in various populations (Kim et al., 2006; Talwar et al., 2006). Some research has indicated that engaging in music activities, specifically listening to music during progressive muscle relaxation, can reduce anxiety (Hernandez-Ruiz, 2005). Listening to relaxing or “sedative” music, which is characterized by a slow tempo, repetitive rhythm, gentle contours, and strings, is widely used by people as a method of reducing anxiety (Knight & Rickard, 2001). However, many of these studies examined small populations and lacked the statistical power to detect significant beneficial outcomes. Thus, additional research is needed to examine sufficiently large populations using a rigorous study design, to measure the effectiveness of these interventions.

A review of the literature indicates that music interventions or music programs in schools provide extrinsic and intrinsic benefits to students. The intrinsic benefits are the unique aesthetic and cultural outcomes accrued through participation in arts education (McFerran & Crooke, 2014). The importance of a music curriculum seems critical for intrinsic benefits, since learning about music promotes new ways of knowing the world and therefore different musical genres and practices that reflect contemporary society are necessary for this to be possible (Bamford, 2006). The extrinsic benefits involve the non-musical changes that result from participation in music. Extrinsic links between music participation and well-being have also been suggested, with music therapy programs leading to improvements in social and emotional development (Kim et al., 2006) and connectedness (McFerran, Roberts, & O’Grady, 2010). Moreover, participation in tailored arts programs has been found to improve social and emotional well-being (Vaughan, Harris, & Caldwell, 2011). Similarly, Broh (2002) found that students who participated in musical activities talked more with their parents and teachers, and that their parents were more likely to talk with their friends’ parents. She concluded that these social benefits were likely to lead to higher self-esteem in the children, in turn leading to increased motivation and self-efficacy.

Participation in extracurricular rehearsals and performances of a school show has been shown to facilitate the development of friendships and to improve the social lives of participants (Pitts, 2007). Such participation can increase pupils’ confidence, social networks and sense of belonging, despite the time commitment that may prevent participation in other activities (Hallam, 2010). Research in the USA has also shown that participation in group music activities during high school helps students learn to support each other, maintain commitments, and bond together to achieve common goals (Sward, 1989). University students who participated in musical activities also reported benefits in terms of pride in being an active contributor to a group outcome, developing a strong sense of belonging, gaining popularity and making friends with “like-minded” people, enhancement of social skills, and development of a strong sense of self-esteem and satisfaction (Hallam, 2010). Given that participation in a music program is a prosocial activity, rather than an antisocial activity, we hypothesized that a music intervention could help to reduce aggression in children and adolescents. Moreover, interventions that involve music may be effective in treating patients with aggression problems, because music allows them to access their feelings non-verbally through improvisation (Austin, 1991). It may mean that a music intervention could enable a patient to express aggression in a constructive way (Smeijsters & Cleven, 2006).

In addition to helping individuals to develop personal and social skills, music interventions may also increase emotional sensitivity (Hallam, 2010). For example, Resnicow, Salovey, and Repp (2004) found a relationship between the ability to recognize emotions in performances of classical piano music and measures of emotional intelligence (EI) that require individuals to identify, understand, reason with, and manage emotions using hypothetical scenarios. This correlation suggests that identification of emotion in a musical performance draws on some of the same skills that make up everyday EI. Although there is debate regarding the definition and assessment of EI, and what EI might predict, the concept of EI has inspired numerous management training programs and school-based programs that promote social and emotional learning. Previous studies found that individuals who scored high on the managing emotions subscale of the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) were more likely to report positive relationships with others and better perceptions of parental support, and were less likely to report negative interactions with close friends (Ciarrochi, Chan, & Caputi, 2000). Other studies reported that peers rated school children who scored higher on the MEIS (an earlier version of the MSCEIT) as less aggressive, and teachers rated them as more prosocial (Rubin, 1999). Adolescents who scored higher on the MEIS were also less likely to have smoked cigarettes and used alcohol in the recent past (Trinidad & Johnson, 2002). Some researchers suggested that EI can be learned and strengthened, but others have claimed it is an inborn characteristic (Salovey & Mayor, 1990). A study of Korean elementary school children (Lee, 2010) found that a group music program composed of singing a song, listening to music, and songwriting enhanced EI. Additionally, in a study of children from low-income families in Korea, Shin (2006) also found that children who participated in a very similar group music activity as mentioned above showed statistically significant increases in EI compared with a control group. Contrary to the above, Schellenberg (2011b) reported that there is no reliable association between music training and social skills or EI. With the exception of the latter study, these findings suggest that music interventions may reduce aggression and anxiety by enabling good mental health and enhanced EI. However, few studies have examined the effect of music interventions on aggression, anxiety, and EI in Korean elementary school children.

Aims and research hypotheses

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a musical instrument performance program in a school setting on EI, anxiety, and aggression in Korean elementary school children. We hypothesized that by the end of intervention, (a) the experimental group would display a higher level of EI than the control group, (b) the experimental group would show a lower level of anxiety than the control group, and (c) the experimental group would exhibit a lower level of aggression than the control group.

Methods

Participants

The present study was designed as a nonequivalent control group pretest–posttest study. The participants were recruited from two elementary schools, one in the K District and one in the S District of Seoul, South Korea. The research protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board. After approval, we contacted the directors of the two elementary schools via telephone and email to explain the study and obtain permission to recruit participants. Next, we recruited participants through weekly announcements for approximately four weeks in online school newsletters that are distributed to teachers, parents, and students. The announcement asked students to contact the researcher or research assistants to obtain a full description of the study. Each potential participant was given a recruitment letter and a consent form for the parents to complete. Parents returned consent forms directly to the teachers, and investigators collected the forms from the school directors. Assent was then obtained from each student at the music class. Only students for whom we had both assent and parental consent were included in the study. We approached 82 families, and the parents/caregivers of 65 children agreed to participate. The enrolled children were randomly assigned to two groups: an experimental group (18 females, 15 males) and a control group (19 females, 13 males). The age of participants ranged from 7 to 12 years old (M = 9.7), and all were racially, culturally, and socio-economically homogeneous. All participants met the following criteria: (a) ability to understand the content of questionnaires and experimental schedules, (b) ability to understand the scoring system, (c) not currently performing either of the interventions on a routine basis and no previous experience in a music intervention study, (d) between 7 and 12 years old, and (e) no hearing deficit. Sixty-five participants had family consent, but three participants in the experimental group and two participants in the control group dropped out due to moving and personal reasons within two weeks after commencement of the intervention. The remaining 60 participants (16 females and 14 males in the experimental group, 18 females and 12 males in the control group) successfully completed the questionnaires at the pre- and post-test points, which represents an attrition rate of 7.7%. The sample size was subjected to a power analysis according to the methods of Cohen (1988). A sample of 24 per group was needed for a power of .80 and a significance level of .05 with a medium effect size = 0.50. To protect against attrition, we enrolled approximately 20% more students than required (30 participants per group).

Procedures

In this quasi-experimental study, an intervention program was provided over a 24-week period, from September 2014 to February 2015. The purpose of the study was explained to all participants, and they were assured that the information they provided would be kept confidential. Participation was strictly voluntary, and participants had the right to withdraw at any time. The two groups were asked to complete a questionnaire that included items on demographics, EI, anxiety, and aggression, before and after the 24-week study period. Data gathering sessions were scheduled at times that were convenient for the participants. Group-administered questionnaires were conducted on a specified day. To increase the reliability of responses, the principal investigator and research assistants walked around the room to monitor participants and answer any questions. All children in the experimental group were given a snack at each intervention session, and were compensated for their time. No adverse effects occurred during the experiments.

Research variables and measurement

Emotional Intelligence (EI)

EI was assessed using the Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS) developed by Moon (1997). This scale is based on the conceptualization of EI (Salovey & Mayor, 1990) and was validated in children (Cronbach’s α = .890). The EIS is a self-reporting 47-item instrument that is scored using a 3-point Likert scale, 1 = disagree, 2 = sometimes agree, and 3 = always agree. The included items represent the four major components of EI (perceiving emotion, understanding emotion, reasoning with emotion, and managing emotion) and were selected on the basis of factor analysis studies. The total score for the 47 questions ranged from 47 to 141, with a higher score indicating greater EI. Cronbach’s α for each of the above-listed components were .771, .815, .817, and .733, respectively, and Cronbach’s α for the total items was .791 in the present study.

Anxiety

We measured anxiety using the 20-item trait anxiety scale from the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI; Spielberger, Gorsuch, Lushene, Vagg, & Jacobs, 1983). A 4-point scale was used, 1 = almost never, 2 = sometimes, 3 = often, and 4 = almost always. Scores ranged from 20 to 80, with a higher score indicating greater anxiety. Cronbach’s α for the scale in the current study was .899.

Aggression

The Aggression Scale (Kim, 1993) used in the current study was created to assess the self-reported level of aggression in children. This scale is based on the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory (BDHI) and a previously reported Aggression Scale (Orpinas & Frankowski, 2001). This scale has 48 items that ask participants to rate their aggression on a yes/no scale (yes = 2, no = 1) in four categories: physical aggression, verbal aggression, direct aggression, and indirect aggression. Scores range from 48 to 96, with a higher score indicating more aggression. Cronbach’s α for this scale was .931 in the present study.

Musical instrument performance program

As a part of the present study, a specially tailored musical instrument performance program was developed by the authors and three music teachers. The program involved teaching a group of students how to play the flute in an elementary school environment. The intervention protocol was developed by the first author with professionals working in this field to ensure the consistency and reliability of the program. The program was implemented weekly for 24 weeks by the authors and three music teachers (who specialized in woodwinds) at the research sites (two elementary schools). A 24-week intervention period was chosen based on previous studies (Lee, 2010; Shin, 2006), and to ensure that the participants had sufficient time to become accustomed to the intervention. Each musical instrument performance class (here, the extracurricular group flute class) lasted about 50 minutes, and included a warm-up period of five minutes, a main session of 40 minutes, and a wrap-up period of five minutes. In the warm-up period, we introduced the participants to the musical experience and focused on building a rapport with students. The aims of these activities were to make students more relaxed and more comfortable for the main session. In the main session, the authors, the three music teachers, and the children engaged in sequenced music playing activities that required the children to utilize cognitive skills to understand the musical process and playing, and to connect to the emotional and social aspect of learning an instrument in a group environment and of the music being played. The main session consisted of three courses, beginning, intermediate, and advanced. At each course, the children were given time to practice a children’s song, sonata, or the flute part of an ensemble work for their level. All children as a group moved from the beginner, to the intermediate, to the advanced course according to the time schedule during the 24 weeks. The wrap-up period allowed the children to share their challenges and sense of achievement in playing music, in the anticipation that this may transfer to other non-musical tasks such as socialization or recognition of emotion. In the last week, small groups of children (duets, trios, or quartets) performed in class for their parents.

The experimental group was given a group class for flute performance as an extracurricular activity, along with a regular music class that is part of the elementary school curriculum. Students in the control group were only given the regular music class that used music textbooks, and included teacher-delivered lectures on music theory, singing of songs, and listening to music. In general, most students are relatively passive in this type of music class, and they make less effort than for classes in mathematics or science (Jang, 2004). All control group students who wanted to participate in the music intervention used in this study were provided with a complimentary music class after study completion. The researchers instructed the children of both groups to avoid taking any other extracurricular music lessons during the research period.

Statistical analyses

The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS/WIN 15.0) was used for data analysis. All variables showed normal distributions (p > .05) according to the normal probabilistic graph. The chi-square test, Fisher’s exact probability test, or the t-test were used to determine the homogeneity of the descriptive variables of the groups at baseline. A repeated-measures ANOVA was performed to examine the effect of the music intervention on the study variables. Data are expressed as mean ± SD, and a p-value below .05 was considered significant.

Results

Homogeneity testing

The characteristics of the experimental and control groups are shown in Table 1. The two groups did not differ significantly in their initial demographics. The two groups had similar proportions of males (45%) and females (55%). The mean age of the experimental group was 9.8 years (SD = 2.1), and that of the control group was 9.5 years (SD = 2.3). Among all participants, 83.3% of fathers and 75.0% of mothers graduated from a college or university. The average number of siblings was 1.95, and the mean monthly household income was 2,500,000 KRW.

Table 1.

Homogeneity testing for participants.

Characteristics	Categories	Exp. (n = 30 )	Cont. (n = 30 )	χ² or t	p
Characteristics	Categories	n (%) or M ±SD	n (%) or M ±SD
Age		9.8 ±2.1	9.5 ±2.3	1.141	.293
Gender	Male	14 (46.7)	13 (43.3)	.564	.423
Gender	Female	16 (53.3)	17 (56.7)
Grade	1–3	12 (40.0)	15 (50.0)	.367	.098
Grade	4–6	18 (60.4)	15 (50.0)
Education(father)^a	< high school	4 (13.3)	6 (20.0)		.795
	college <	26 (86.7)	24 (80.0)
Education(mother)	< high school	9 (30.0)	6 (20.0)	1.688	.667
	college <	21 (70.0)	24 (80.0)
Number of siblings^a	1	15 (50.0)	13 (43.4)		.783
	2–3	14 (46.7)	15 (50.0)
	3 <	1 ( 3.3)	2 ( 6.6)
Household income^a	< 200	14 (46.7)	13 (43.3)		.992
(10,000 KRW^b)	201–300	14 (46.7)	14 (46.7)
	300 <	2 (6.6)	3 (10.0)
Academic performance	Upper	5 (16.7)	6 (20.0)	2.010	.209
	Average	19 (63.3)	17 (56.7)
	Low	6 (20.0)	7 (23.3)

Fisher’s exact test. ^b1 USD = approximately 1,105 KRW.

At the pre-test, the EI scores of the experimental and control groups were 65.55 (± 10.42) and 66.03 (± 9.46), respectively, the anxiety scores were 41.99 (± 6.34) and 42.23 (± 4.82), respectively, and the aggression scores were 77.76 (± 10.62) and 76.80 (± 9.02), respectively (Table 2). None of these differences was significant, indicating that the experimental and control groups were homogeneous prior to the intervention.

Table 2.

Homogeneity testing for outcome variables.

Variables	Experimentalgroup (n = 30 )	Controlgroup (n = 30 )	χ² or t	p
Variables	M±SD	M±SD
Emotional intelligence	65.55±10.42	66.03±9.46	–.418	.716
Anxiety	41.99±6.34	42.23±4.82	.421	.318
Aggression	77.76±10.62	76.80±9.02	.516	.298

Effects of the music intervention program on outcome variables

We performed repeated measures ANOVA to assess the effect of the musical instrument performance program on EI, anxiety, and aggression. As seen in Table 3, there were no significant effects of group, F(1, 58) = 0.956, p = .223, time, F(1, 58) = 1.547, p = .051, or the interaction of group × time, F(1, 58) = 5.980, p =.168, on total EI. However, there were statistically significant effects of group, F(1, 58) = 1.474, p = .016, time, F(1, 58) = 3.559, p = .048, and the interaction of group × time, F(1, 58) = 4.108, p = .001, on perceiving emotion (a subcategory of EI), indicating a greater increase in the experimental group compared to the control group during the intervention period.

Table 3.

Repeated measures ANOVA in EI, anxiety, and aggression.

Variables	Groups	Pre-test (n = 30)	Post-test (n = 30)	Source	F(p)
Variables	Groups	M±SD	M±SD	Source	F(p)
Perceiving emotion	Experimental	9.79±4.21	12.52±4.08	Group Time G×T^a	1.474(.016) 3.559(.048) 4.108(.001)
Perceiving emotion	Control	9.94±3.61	10.11±4.02	Group Time G×T^a	1.474(.016) 3.559(.048) 4.108(.001)
Understanding emotion	Experimental	16.03±3.42	12.11±3.25	Group Time G×T^a	0.758(.342) 1.423(.425) 0.097(.597)
Understanding emotion	Control	15.03±3.91	12.14±3.04	Group Time G×T^a	0.758(.342) 1.423(.425) 0.097(.597)
Reasoning with emotion	Experimental	10.43±3.02	10.99±3.82	Group Time G×T^a	1.247(.569) 3.492(.329) 3.160(.071)
Reasoning with emotion	Control	10.78±3.62	11.70±3.25	Group Time G×T^a	1.247(.569) 3.492(.329) 3.160(.071)
Managing emotion	Experimental	21.75±3.57	23.95±3.89	Group Time G×T^a	0.841(.242) 0.248(.125) 3.761(.214)
Managing emotion	Control	22.70±3.46	24.59±4.02	Group Time G×T^a	0.841(.242) 0.248(.125) 3.761(.214)
Total EI	Experimental	65.55±10.42	69.73±9.84	Group Time G×T^a	0.956(.223) 1.547(.051) 5.980(.168)
Total EI	Control	66.03±9.46	68.97±10.01	Group Time G×T^a	0.956(.223) 1.547(.051) 5.980(.168)
Anxiety	Experimental	41.99±6.34	40.84±7.46	Group Time G×T^a	0.743(.686) 0.165(.890) 3.244(.428)
Anxiety	Control	42.23±4.82	42.02±4.17	Group Time G×T^a	0.743(.686) 0.165(.890) 3.244(.428)
Physical aggression	Experimental	15.20±5.31	11.84±4.84	Group Time G×T^a	1.245(.038) 0.328(.027) 1.129(.176)
Physical aggression	Control	14.80±3.41	14.13±4.43	Group Time G×T^a	1.245(.038) 0.328(.027) 1.129(.176)
Verbal aggression	Experimental	20.84±4.36	17.96±3.84	Group Time G×T^a	1.748(.049) 3.724(.043) 4.173(.039)
Verbal aggression	Control	19.98±3.01	19.46±3.28	Group Time G×T^a	1.748(.049) 3.724(.043) 4.173(.039)
Direct aggression	Experimental	24.18±5.82	24.09±4.56	Group Time G×T^a	4.259(.229) 6.196(.451) 11.665(.581)
Direct aggression	Control	24.36±4.14	24.16±5.02	Group Time G×T^a	4.259(.229) 6.196(.451) 11.665(.581)
Indirect aggression	Experimental	14.58±4.08	14.55±3.41	Group	0.532(.134) 3.367(.279) 2.669(.960)
	Control	14.67±3.61	14.49±4.01	Time
	Control	14.67±3.61	14.49±4.01	G×T^a
Total aggression	Experimental	77.76±10.62	74.40±11.76	Group Time G×T^a	0.069(.731) 1.159(.627) 4.179(.542)
Total aggression	Control	76.80±9.02	75.84±10.93	Group Time G×T^a	0.069(.731) 1.159(.627) 4.179(.542)

G × T = Group × Time.

Similar results were found for anxiety and total aggression. There were no statistically significant effects of group (anxiety: F(1, 58) = 0.743, p = .686, total aggression: F(1, 58) = 0.069, p = .731), time (anxiety: F(1, 58) = 0.165, p = .890, total aggression: F(1, 58) = 1.159, p = .627), or the interaction of group × time on anxiety, F(1, 58) = 3.244, p = .428, and total aggression, F(1, 58) = 4.179, p = .542. However, there were statistically significant effects of group, F(1, 58) = 1.748, p = .049, time, F(1, 58) = 3.724, p = .043, and the interaction of group × time, F(1, 58) = 4.173, p = .039, on verbal aggression (a subcategory of aggression), indicating a greater decrease in the experimental group compared to the control group during the intervention period. Physical aggression also showed statistically significant effects of group, F(1, 58) = 1.245, p = .038, and time, F(1, 58) = 0.328, p = .027, but not the interaction effect of group × time, F(1, 58) = 1.129, p = .176. Thus, our results indicated that the musical instrument performance program had a positive effect on perceiving emotion, and reduced physical and verbal aggression in Korean elementary school children. These results partially supported our hypotheses (a) and (c), that the musical instrument performance program would increase EI and reduce aggression, but were inconsistent with hypothesis (b), that the program would reduce anxiety.

Discussion

The main objective of this study was to determine the effect of the musical instrument performance program on EI, anxiety, and aggression in Korean elementary school children. Previous studies of music interventions (Baker & Ledger, 2007; Lai et al., 2005; Lee, 2010; Shin, 2006) examined the effect of passive or simple interventions, such as listening to music or singing songs to infants or children from low-income families or elderly persons with physical or cognitive problems. Thus, our examination of the effect of playing a musical instrument could be considered very innovative. Indeed, this study is one of the first to examine the effect of playing a musical instrument on EI, anxiety, and aggression in Korean elementary school children.

We used repeated measures ANOVA to examine the research questions in this study. In the questionnaire administered to students at the end of the intervention period, the first question provided data on the EI of participants at that time point. The results showed that the ability to perceive emotion increased in both the experimental and control groups during the intervention period, but the magnitude of this increase was significantly greater in the experimental group than in the control group. However, contrary to our expectations, the two groups showed no significant difference in the level of total EI. These findings are consistent with previous findings showing that higher mean total EI scores in a musically trained group than an untrained group were independent of music lessons (Schellenberg, 2011a). As proposed in this prior study, the associations between music lessons and nonmusical abilities may be limited to intellectual abilities, and/or the associations between music lessons and EI may not be elucidated by text-based tests of EI such as questionnaires of the type used in the present study. Schellenberg (2011b) also suggested that individual or group music lessons may provide additional boosts in IQ because they are school-like, but enjoyable, activities. However, we did not include IQ as a dependent variable. Thus, further studies are needed to examine the association between music lessons or music-related activities and IQ in Korean elementary school children.

The second question of the questionnaire administered after the intervention ended asked participants to indicate their current level of anxiety. Both the experimental and control groups showed a decrease in anxiety between before and after the intervention, but the magnitude of this decrease did not differ significantly between the two groups. In contrast to our program’s nonsignificant effect on the level of anxiety, other programs based on music listening paired with progressive muscle relaxation, listening to relaxing music, or music-assisted relaxation techniques have been found to lower anxiety significantly (Hernandez-Ruiz, 2005; Knight & Rickard, 2001). The discrepancy between the effects of our musical instrument performance program and these previously reported music-based interventions may have been due to the previous programs’ emphasis on relaxation, whereas our program required playing a musical instrument without any relaxation procedure. Furthermore, our intervention consisted of teaching students to play the flute, and then asking them to play the flute in an ensemble or small group. Thus, our intervention could have been a stressful experience for students who were less motivated, less interested in music, or who had anxiety about performing in public. These students may have experienced the intervention as a stressful learning experience, rather than a therapeutic art-based intervention using music.

Although some evidence suggests that music has potential as a relaxation aid, other research does not support this (Nilsson, 2008; Pelletier, 2004). Similarly, some previous studies that examined the effects of various types of music interventions on anxiety have yielded inconsistent results. For example, among four randomized clinical trials, two studies reported no difference in anxiety between the experimental and control groups (Cruise, Chung, Yogendran, & Little, 1997; Koch, Kain, Ayoub, & Rosenbaum, 1998), one study reported reduced anxiety in the experimental group (Palakanis, DeNobile, Sweeney, & Blankenship, 1994), and another study reported increased anxiety in the experimental group (Walther-Larsen, Deimar, & Valentin, 1998).

The third question of the questionnaire administered after completion of our musical instrument performance program provided data on whether the program decreased the level of aggression. Among the subcategories of aggression, our results showed that the intervention reduced verbal and physical aggression. However, the post-test total aggression score did not differ significantly between the two groups. Considering that aggression may be seen as a type of emotion, the apparent lack of effect of the music intervention on aggression could be viewed in the same context as our findings on the association between the music intervention and EI.

Consequently, our results partially supported the research hypotheses (a) and (c), that a musical instrument performance program would improve EI and decrease aggression, but were inconsistent with our hypothesis (b), that such a program would reduce anxiety. The overall results of the statistical analyses showed no significant differences between the experimental and control groups. Similarly, a previous study (Crooke & McFerran, 2014) also suggested that participation in classroom music may not improve emotional or social well-being, because students worry about whether they will meet curricular goals. Although our musical instrument performance program was not a required regular music class, we realize that learning to play a musical instrument could cause the students to become frustrated. Previous research also suggested that a music intervention program can achieve different types of benefits if it is tailored to meet specific aims (Crooke & McFerran, 2014). Despite the presence of substantial evidence supporting the benefits of music intervention, it can be challenging to implement a music intervention appropriately and therapeutically within schools. It can also be difficult to predict which students will benefit most from a music intervention and to determine the most suitable type of music, the best methods for delivering music, and the optimal timing and sequence of the interventions.

Some commentators have argued that this lack of transfer of benefits is because music programs do not employ music genres that are relevant to people’s lives outside of the school environment (Bamford, 2006). In the present study, our musical instrument performance program consisted of a children’s song, a Korean traditional folk song, a sonata, or the flute part of an ensemble work from Western classical music. Contrary to our result that our intervention did not reduce the level of total aggression, a previous study that examined at-risk youth participating in the NANTA – a world-famous Korean nonverbal percussion performance show – reported reduced aggression in at-risk youth (Kim, 2009). It is possible that the NANTA helped the students to express their inner anger and thereby reduce negative emotions, but our intervention used in the present study provided no such catharsis. We now better understand the importance of the music genres that are relevant and enjoyable to the younger generation. We also understand that the program should be more comfortable and enjoyable, and should consider the characteristics and nature of the younger generation. It therefore remains a possibility that, if we had used musical materials that were more relevant and enjoyable to children, we may have seen significant change in the outcome.

Given the contextual nature of this study, we cannot yet make specific implications. Nevertheless, our results suggest that the targets and/or types of music intervention may need to be adjusted for different participants to effectively increase their EI, and decrease their anxiety and aggression.

The present study had some limitations. First, all participants were recruited from two elementary schools in Seoul, South Korea using a convenience sampling method. Thus, the participants are not representative of all elementary school children in Korea. Second, all of the data in this study were from self-reports. Although we guaranteed anonymity and confidentiality to all participants, it is possible that some children might not have answered all the questions honestly. Future studies should include additional informants, such as teachers, peers, and family members. Third, although we used a rigorous experimental procedure, conceptually and developmentally appropriate interventions must be further developed if we hope to precisely assess these sorts of research questions. The field of music intervention remains complex, and there are still ambiguities in the conceptualization, usefulness, and contextual nature of the application of such interventions. Fourth, although the concept of EI has been extensively studied across various cultures and countries, many scholars remain sceptical about this construct and its measurement. EI is still labelled an “elusive concept”, even though it has been suggested to provide a basis for competencies important in almost any job (Cherniss, 2000). Thus, it is necessary to develop conceptually sensitive instruments for the more precise assessment of EI as a research variable. Finally, the present study examined a limited number of research variables. The inclusion of other variables, such as IQ, and individual differences in the level of musical development, ability, or knowledge, could have altered our findings.

Conclusion

We examined the effectiveness of a musical instrument performance program on EI, anxiety, and aggression in Korean elementary school children. Our intervention enhanced the ability of students to perceive emotion, and reduced their physical and verbal aggression. Contrary to our expectations, however, we found no significant differences in the level of total EI, anxiety, or aggression between students who did and did not participate in the musical instrument performance program. Although our hypotheses were not fully supported, the possibility remains that, through a differently implemented intervention, playing a musical instrument could be beneficial to children’s emotional and social well-being or mental health. In particular, contextual or methodological factors, such as selection of the target population, the method of delivering a music intervention, the optimal timing of the intervention, and the research methodology, may be more important than simply playing a musical instrument to achieve a beneficial effect.

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

We thank the elementary school students who participated in this study, as well as the research assistants, and music teachers who helped with data collection. We also thank Ed.M. (in Music) Young-Shin Lee who was actively involved in the musical instrument performance intervention.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was partially supported by Daegu Haany University, South Korea (Grant No. 2014-901-31).

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