The Effect of Classical Music on Anxiety and Well-Being of University Students

Psychological and spiritual effects of music on people have been revealed by various studies and still continue to be investigated. The sound which has existed since the first formation of the universe; and music and music therapy which are as old as the history of mankind have constituted one of the treatment methods widely investigated at hospitals and universities. In the daily lives of people, anxiety, stress, well-being and similar phenomena clearly remain in the foreground. The current study is an experimental study designed to determine the effect of listening to classical music on anxiety and well-being. The sampling of the study is comprised of senior students in an education faculty. A total of 15 students (7 females and 8 males) participated in the current study. The data were collected with the State-Trait Anxiety Scale and the Psychological Well-being Scale. In the analysis of the data, Paired Sample t-Test was used. The findings of the current study have revealed that while listening to classical music for a 60-day period (listening to classical music ever day according to a music listening schedule) did not have any significant effect on the students' State Anxiety scores, it led to a statistically significant effect on their Trait Anxiety and Psychological Well-being scores (t=3,451 P<0,004; t=-3.699, P<0.002). When the pre-test and post-test Psychological Well-being mean scores were compared, no significant difference was found for the sub-dimension of "autonomy", significant differences in favour of post-test scores were found for the sub-dimensions of "positive relations with others", "environmental mastery", "personal growth", "purpose in life", and "self-acceptance".