17 LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF PIANO MUSIC THERAPY ON THE MENTAL HEALTH OF ADOLESCENTS WITH ANXIETY DISORDERS
Authors: Zhang Shaoyu 
Published: February 2025

Abstract

Background
Anxiety disorder is a common psychological disorder among adolescents, manifested as excessive tension, anxiety and physical symptoms. Long-term anxiety may have a profound impact on mental health and social function. Music therapy has received attention in the field of mental health in recent years due to its non-invasive and soothing effects. Piano music therapy, by combining the dual modes of playing and listening, can not only directly relieve anxiety, but also have a positive impact on long-term mental health by activating brain neural networks.

Methods
The study recruited 60 adolescent patients diagnosed with anxiety disorders and randomly divided them into an intervention group and a control group, with 30 people in each group. The intervention group received piano music therapy for 16 weeks, three times a week, each time including 30 minutes of piano playing training and 30 minutes of music listening. The repertoire was selected by the therapist according to the individual needs of the patients. The control group received a standard mental health education course once a week, 60 minutes each time. Anxiety symptoms were assessed by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 Item Scale (GAD-7), depression levels were measured using the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), and psychological resilience was measured using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). All scales were measured once before the intervention, after the intervention, and one year after the intervention.

Results
The improvement in anxiety, depression and psychological resilience scores of the intervention group was significantly better than that of the control group (P&lt;0.01). After the intervention, the GAD-7 score of the intervention group dropped from an average of 16.4 ± 3.2 points to 9.1 ± 2.6 points, while that of the control group only dropped from 16.2 ± 3.1 points to 13.5 points. The SDS score showed that the intervention group dropped from 54.7 ± 5.3 points to 42.3 ± 4.7 points, while the control group dropped from 54.1 ± 5.1 points to 49.6 ± 4.9 points. In terms of psychological flexibility, the CD-RISC score showed that the intervention group improved from 55.2 ± 6.4 points before the intervention to 70.8 ± 5.7 points, while the control group only improved from 54.8 ± 6.1 points to 61.4 ± 5.8 points. One year after the intervention, the GAD-7 score of the intervention group was maintained at 9.5 ± 2.7 points, the SDS score was 43.1 ± 4.5 points, and the CD-RISC score was 69.6 ± 5.9 points, showing significant long-term effects, while the control group’s The scores were close to the pre-intervention levels, which were 15.1 ± 3.0 points, 51.8 ± 5.0 points and 58.3 ± 6.2 points respectively.

Discussion
Piano music therapy significantly improved the anxiety and depressive symptoms of adolescent patients with anxiety disorder, while significantly improving psychological flexibility, and the effect was still maintained one year after the intervention ended. As a comprehensive intervention model, piano music therapy provides a new idea for the long-term treatment of anxiety disorders.