Calming Music as an Emotion Regulation Technique in Response to a Traumatic Sexual Assault Narrative
Date of Graduation
5-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
Degree Level
Undergraduate
Department
Psychological Science
Advisor/Mentor
Bridges, Ana
Committee Member
Levine, Bill
Second Committee Member
Starks, Trish
Third Committee Member
Lessner, Faith
Abstract
Experiencing a sexual assault often results in lasting psychological trauma that inhibits the person’s ability to function, so coping strategies are needed to reduce those symptoms. This study was done to understand the effect of listening to calming music (vs silence) on both anxiety levels and memory recall following the description of a sexual assault. It was hypothesized that listening to calming music would decrease both anxiety and memory levels in a manner that the association between music and memory would be at least partially mediated by anxiety levels. Participants (N=99; 68% female; 84% White; 87% heterosexual) came into the lab, took a baseline state anxiety measure, listened to a sexual assault script, and completed the state anxiety measure again. Next, participants experienced either the calming music condition or silence condition, after which they took the state anxiety measure a third time. Participants then took a memory test based on the script, watched a mood-uplifting video, took the state anxiety measure a final time, and provided sociodemographic information. Anxiety levels were assessed using the State Trait Anxiety Inventory and memory recall was assessed based on the number of correct answers in the memory test. Independent-samples t-tests, paired-samples t-tests, and correlations were used to analyze the data. This study found that listening to calming music significantly decreased anxiety levels when compared to silence. There was no correlation found between listening to calming music vs. silence and memory recall. These findings provide support for the use of calming music as a coping mechanism following a traumatic event.
Keywords
Anxiety; Sexual Assault; Trauma; Music; Emotion Regulation
Citation
Iandolo, M. A. (2025). Calming Music as an Emotion Regulation Technique in Response to a Traumatic Sexual Assault Narrative. Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/psycuht/71
