Emotional regulation and music engagement: a meta-analytic synthesis

Background The use of music-based interventions has grown to support emotional regulation, mood improvement, stress relief, and psychological well-being in general, pediatric, and clinical populations. The research shows increasing evidence but maintains gaps in understanding how the treatments work across different populations. Objective The study aims to synthesize existing research on music-based interventions that help people regulate their emotions, maintain their mood, and manage stress across various groups through a meta-analysis to determine the overall impact of these interventions. Methods The researchers conducted a comprehensive literature search to identify articles published between 2007 and 2026 in the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. The study included research on music-based treatments for emotional control and mood improvement, stress management, and psychological wellness across general, pediatric, adolescent, and clinical populations. The researchers extracted raw depression or mood scores from the data and analyzed them using a random-effects model with inverse-variance weighting. The researchers assessed heterogeneity using the I 2 statistic and Cochran’s Q test. Results A total of 46 studies were included in the research. The general population showed depression results of 18.25 (95% CI: 17.76–18.75) through music interventions, which included emotion regulation mobile apps, mindfulness-based music therapy, and personal music listening, according to 13 studies that involved 1,041 participants. The eight studies, with 497 participants, found that group music therapy, impromptu music therapy, and music-induced embodied emotion regulation produced a score of 18.12 (95% CI: 17.17–19.07), with high heterogeneity (I 2  = 75%, p  2  = 52%, p  = 0.02). The seven studies with 497 participants that examined stress reduction, coping, and psychological well-being found an MRAW score of 18.80 (95% CI: 17.82–19.78), indicating significant heterogeneity (I 2  = 80%, p   Conclusion Music-based interventions are effective tools that help people from diverse backgrounds regulate their emotions, improve mood, reduce stress, and achieve better psychological outcomes. The interventions yield consistent positive results, with varying levels of effectiveness across clinical and special populations. Future research should investigate the optimal types of interventions, their duration, and delivery methods to maximize emotional and psychological outcomes.