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Music is increasingly used with youths in health and psychosocial interventions. We conducted a scoping review with the aim to provide an overview of the current available evidence on music intervention for youth in mental health settings, to inform practice and further research. Three databases (PsycINFO, PubMed and CINAHL) were surveyed. Using the PRISMA review method, 23 studies met inclusion criteria. Young people aged from 4 to 25 years old with various mental health conditions participated in music interventions. Music therapy was the most investigated (71%). Improving social skills was the most frequent therapeutic aim addressed. Music interventions are mostly appreciated by the participants, but it is difficult to make conclusions about their effectiveness because of the heterogeneity of research designs and the limited current state of research. Music interventions appear to represent a promising complementary approach to usual psychiatric care, but further standardised research is necessary to continue investigating their therapeutic effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The MAP is an innovative receptive music therapy intervention derived from psychomusical relaxation methods that aims to foster the well-being and recovery of youths with mental health problems by providing them with an adaptive and effective music-assisted means to regulate their mood states. In this quasi-experimental pilot study, we assessed the mood-enhancing potential of participation in MAP sessions delivered by a music therapist in an in-patient mental health facility for children and adolescents. Using short standardized self-reported questionnaires, 20 participants aged 9-17 years old (M = 14, SD = 2.4), mainly girls (13 = 65%), rated their affective state immediately before and after two to four MAP sessions and a similar number of regular unit activity sessions used as comparison. This created a 2 × 2 (Time × Condition) single-group within-individual design. We analyzed pre-post session changes in affect using multilevel mixed models and found participation in MAP sessions to be associated with systematic reductions in self-reported general negative affect and state anxiety. These variations were of modest-to-large magnitude and significantly greater than those associated to participation in regular unit activities. While only a first step towards the validation of the MAP as an effective intervention to foster more adaptive and effective day-to-day mood regulation in youths with mental health problems, this study supports its specific potential to alleviate negative affects and provides a rare demonstration of the putative benefits of music therapy in a pediatric mental health inpatient context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]