Comparison of group vs self-directed music interventions to reduce chemotherapy-related distress and cognitive appraisal: an exploratory study.

<bold>Purpose: </bold>The purpose of this study was to determine effects of group music intervention and self-directed music intervention on anxiety, depression, and cognitive appraisal among women with breast cancer.<bold>Methods: </bold>A quasi-experimental design randomly assigned 60 women undergoing chemotherapy to 3 groups: group music intervention, self-directed music intervention, or a control group. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale were administered before, after the 8-week interventions, and at 3-month follow-up.<bold>Results: </bold>Of the 52 women completing the study, results indicated that group music intervention had a significant (p < .01) immediate effect to decrease helplessness/hopelessness and anxious preoccupation and significant effects for reducing anxiety, depression, helplessness/hopelessness, and cognitive avoidance compared to the other two groups at 3-month follow-up.<bold>Conclusions: </bold>Group music intervention can be considered an effective supportive care in alleviating the chemotherapy-related distress and enhancing cognition modification of women with breast cancer. Further research is needed to determine the role of cognitive appraisal in the illness trajectory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]