Clinical effectiveness of mindfulness-based music therapy on improving emotional regulation in blind older women: A randomized controlled trial.
Sunny H W Chan, Meryl Y C Cheung, Armstrong T S Chiu, Mimi H T Leung, Michael C C Kuo, Donald Y C Yip, Carole C Y Hui, Sally W I Kam, King Yeung, Doreen S P Mui, Shu-Mei Wang, Calvin C K Yip
Integrative medicine research December 1, 2023 DOI: 10.1016/j.imr.2023.100993 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA structured eight-week mindfulness-based music therapy (MBMT) program improved mood regulation in older women with blindness more than mindfulness alone or no treatment. Ninety-two older women from a Hong Kong residential setting were randomly assigned to MBMT, mindfulness intervention (MI), or a control group. At posttest, both MBMT and MI groups showed lower scores on the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) compared to controls. MBMT led to greater improvement in emotional awareness and appeared to reduce depression more than MI alone, suggesting a synergistic effect of combining mindfulness with music.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 92 |
| Population | Older women with blindness in Hong Kong |
| Interventions | Mindfulness-based music therapy Mindfulness intervention |
| Duration | 8-week intervention |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Emotional regulation Music therapy Treatment outcome Visually impaired persons |
| Citations | 7 |
| Registration | NCT05583695 |
| Key finding | Mindfulness-based music therapy improved emotional regulation more than mindfulness intervention alone in older women with blindness. |
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate clinical effectiveness of a structured eight-week mindfulness-based music therapy (MBMT) program on improving mood regulation in older women with blindness. This investigation compared a MBMT group with a mindfulness intervention (MI) group and a control group. Ninety-two older females with blindness from a residential setting in Hong Kong were recruited and randomly allocated to a MBMT (n = 31), MI (n = 30), or control (n = 31) group. Psychological measurements regarding mood regulation and general mood states (namely, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale [DERS], Geriatric Depression Scale [GDS], and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21), were taken at pretest and posttest. Outcome assessors were blinded to group assignment. Data was analyzed based on intention-to-treat basis. At posttest, DERS scores in the MBMT group (mean differences and 95% confidence interval: 12.1, 5.5 to 18.8) and the MI group (7.2, 0.5 to 13.8) were lower than that in the control group. GDS scores in the MBMT group (2.9, 1.7 to 4.0) and the MI group (1.7, 0.6 to 2.9) were lower than those in the control group. Compared with the MI group, the MBMT group improved emotional awareness sub-scores in DERS (2.1, 0.2 to 4.1) and appeared to lower depression in GDS scores (1.1, -0.0 to 2.3; p = 0.053). MBMT seems more beneficial than MI alone for improving emotional regulation in older women with blindness. The combination of mindfulness and music can generate a synergetic effect by enhancing both attention and appraisal components within the emotional-regulation process. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05583695.