Music for mood regulation: listening strategies, listening preferences, and individual differences

Despite the fact that music is a universal feature of culture that is omnipresent in daily life, we are only beginning to understand how people use music to manage their moods, and how this behaviour relates to mental health outcomes. The current research investigated two defining features of musical mood regulation, namely: listening strategies and stimuli preferences. Two studies were conducted using a sample of 428 participants aged 18 to 57 years (M = 24.34; SD = 8.15). Study 1 found that music listening was the most popular strategy for mood regulation. Listening strategies that resemble cognitive reframing and behavioural activation (i.e., adaptive strategies) were associated with positive mood outcomes, whereas ruminative listening was associated with poorer mood outcomes, difficulties with problem solving, and a personality diathesis for depression. The effect of ruminative listening on mood was exerted through people’s poorer mood regulation abilities. These variables had a strong effect on trait mood (f 2 = .40 for both PA and NA). Gender differences in listening strategies were not observed when controlling for baseline levels of utilisation (F (5, 415) = 1.15, p = .34). Study 2 revealed that people prefer to listen to music that matches their negative moods, regardless of their personality or preferred listening strategies. Unlike other genres, preferences for Heavy-Metal and Rock music were positively correlated with every listening strategy, suggesting that they can facilitate adaptive or maladaptive musical mood regulation. The current findings address the need for empirical research into music that speaks directly to the mainstream practice of clinical psychology. The discussion provides a focused commentary on clinical implications and guidelines for assessment, formulation, and intervention.