Quantifying the impact of singing lessons on children’s mental health

A music-based mental health intervention administered by a teacher in a classroom setting has proven to increase subjective well-being among children.

Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) math professor Francis Duah collaborated with psychology and education researchers in the U.K. to test group singing as a mental health intervention for elementary school-aged children. Led by professor Duah’s former graduate student Jack Davies, the study involved two weeks of daily in-class singing lessons with eight- and nine-year-old students in the U.K. The students learned three pop songs, which they chose through a class vote: Don’t Give Up on Me by Andy Grammar, High Hopes by Panic at the Disco and Shotgun by George Ezra.

The research team found that the singing intervention had a positive impact on the children’s well-being. It enabled the children to increasingly draw on social capital they already had for support, such as their friendships with classmates and their relationships with their teacher. It also helped them feel more connected and part of a bigger community. Overall, the study showed that a group singing intervention required few resources but yielded a high impact.

Measuring the severity of mental health symptoms and the actual size of the impact of interventions requires numbers, said professor Duah. However, those numbers require analyzing in a way that is prudent and stands up to scrutiny.

“That’s where my expertise came in,” said professor Duah. “If you don’t have the necessary skill in statistics, a lot of the time, people can analyze Likert scales in inappropriate ways.”

The study took a mixed-methods approach, using interviews, a focus group and quantitative questionnaires to gauge the singing intervention's impact. Researchers used the Student Life Satisfaction Scale (SLSS), which they validated for use in a U.K. context, to measure the students’ well-being and analyze any changes over time. The SLSS uses a Likert scale, or rating system, and asks children if they agree or disagree with general statements about their lives. A score is then calculated based on their answers. Before the singing lessons, 41 per cent of children had low well-being scores. That number dropped to just 11 per cent after the singing intervention.

The researchers also interviewed the children to better understand their lived experiences and what they were thinking or feeling beyond the numbers. “Qualitative measures allow you to hear people's voices to help make sense of it,” said professor Duah.

Overall, the study showed that a group singing intervention required few resources but yielded a high impact.

The research was conducted in collaboration with Jack Davies and Sue Benthan from the University of Chichester.

Read “The impact of group singing on children's subjective well‐being: Mixed methods research” (external link, opens in new window)  in the journal Children & Society.