Huang, Z., & Duell, N. (2020). A novel music therapy intervention utilizing pop music to reduce adolescent anxiety and depression. Journal of Student Research, 9(2), 1-15.
The work of Huang and Duell is thematically related to the research question, as they explore the therapeutic potential of pop music for the psyches of teenage individuals. The authors claim that they “explored a pivotal approach to whether scientifically proven pop music can help prevent anxiety and depression” in their academic paper (Huang & Duell, 2020, p. 1). They are investigating the potential of pop music therapy to prevent, reduce, and stop the damage of anxiety and depression in teenagers by applying clinical psychology. They use assessment tools such as the musical intervention, the demographic questionnaire, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.
Regarding existing knowledge about pop music as a tool to change teenagers’ unstable, erratic behavior, the work by Huang and Duell supports optimistic hypotheses about its effectiveness. Their findings also complement those made by ter Bogt et al. and Saarikallio et al. The fundamental idea of this experiment, with a consistent methodology, is that pop music has a relaxing and preventive effect (Huang & Duell, 2020). Therefore, it can help young individuals avoid negative psychophysiology and improve their mental well-being. Selected analytical techniques do not contradict each other but form a single functioning model that makes the article valid and reliable.
Nunes, F., Mota, C. P., Ferreira, T., Schoon, I., & Matos, P. M. (2023). Stability and change in adolescents’ sense of agency: Contributions of sex, multiple risk, pandemic stress, and attachment to parents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 52, 1374–1389.
The sense of agency is a fundamental perceptual aspect of one’s behavior, which is why Nunes et al.’s study on it was included. According to them, this and “individuals’ psychoemotional development and adjustment” are strongly interlinked (Nunes et al., 2023, p. 1374). The authors explore adolescents’ awareness and understanding of their agency via the lenses of youth and family psychology and sociology. A series of baseline assessments enabled them to collect information, which was then interpreted using univariate regression models.
The study demonstrates how to assess the long-term impact of multiple personal, interpersonal, and social factors on perceptions of agency and human behavior. The practical organization and structure they presented can be used to investigate other intersectional aspects of pop music and young people’s attitudes. The topic discussed and the concepts used are very close to those in the article by Saarikallio et al. Significant insights from Nunes et al. (2023) include the finding that sense of agency increases dramatically by the end of school, and that the family factor is highly influential. The well-designed sequence of analytical procedures demonstrates that this is a valid and reliable academic work.
Saarikallio, S. H., Randall, W. M., & Baltazar, M. (2020). Music listening for supporting adolescents’ sense of agency in daily life. Frontiers in Psychology, 10(2911), 1–11
The scholarly paper by Saarikallio et al. was chosen because these researchers explore relevant topics such as music listening, the adolescent psyche, and their sense of agency. Awareness of one’s agency is one of the defining factors of stable behavior. According to Saarikallio (2020), “the current study investigated whether music listening influences adolescents’ perceived agency in everyday life and which contextual determinants would explain such an influence” (p. 1). The article’s central theme is the music-fostered agency, which is examined through the lens of youth psychology and social cognitive theory. The data were gathered digitally using MuPsych and analyzed using aggregate scores and a multilevel model.
The work of Saarikallio et al. contributes new knowledge about the effects of music on youth behavior from a social cognitive perspective in psychology. Interestingly, this article provides a solution to balancing agency development in teenagers, a topic explored by Nunes et al. One of the central inferences is that the impact of music on one’s sense of agency is highly dependent on current emotions and external social influences. The study has undergone several approvals, including an ethics review, making it a valid and credible study.
Ter Bogt, T., Canale, N., Lenzi, M., Vieno, A., & van den Eijnden, R. (2021). Sad music depresses sad adolescents: A listener’s profile. Psychology of Music, 49(2), 257–272.
Due to its thematic proximity, a research paper by ter Bogt et al. was selected to address the research question. A team of researchers investigates how emotionally charged music influences adolescents’ emotions and behavior. They state, “this research explored both social context and personal characteristics in relation to being saddened by sad music when in a sad mood”(ter Bogt et al., 2021, p. 261). The authors investigate whether sad music can evoke similar feelings in adolescents by applying concepts from emotional psychology. They apply methods such as descriptive statistics, linear regression, and multivariate correlation analysis.
This source complements the current literature on the interplay among music, mood, and social factors. It confirms the central inference from Huang and Duell’s articles, which suggests that music can have a specific, implied emotional effect on a young person. Music with a sad narrative can change a young person’s mood, in the same or opposite direction, although the likelihood of influence is statistically slight (ter Bogt et al., 2021). It is a systematic review in which the authors have maintained methodological consistency, making their work reliable and trustworthy.
Zorkeply, N. S., & Zulkifli, T. E. T. M. (2022). Pop music and its role as a means of expression for emotions among young people. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 12(11), 1199–1214.
The written study by Zorkeply and Zulkifli was chosen and included because it discusses such research-relevant topics as pop music and teenage emotions. The authors believe that “music can be considered a language of feeling” (Zorkeply & Zulkifli, 2022, p. 1201). The duo of explorers focuses on the relationship between music and a teenager’s emotional state, drawing on both adolescent psychology and music theory. The techniques employed by the authors who compiled the methodology consist of qualitative research design, purposive sampling, one-to-one semi-structured interviews, and thematic analysis.
The article contributes to the findings of Ter Bogt et al. and Huang and Duell by explaining the link between musical techniques in popular music and teenage emotions. Therefore, Zorkeply and Zulkifli do not contradict the others mentioned but provide a new relevant perspective. The study is reliable and methodologically correct as it uses compatible techniques. Its interesting idea is that certain musical structural and lyrical elements evoke specific emotions, and that young people know this is a universal effect.