Impact of Music Education on Mental Health of Higher Education Students: Moderating Role of Emotional Intelligence

Abstract

Music education is one of human kind most universal forms of expression and communication, and it can be found in the daily lives of people of all ages and cultures all over the world. As university life is a time when students are exposed to a great deal of stress, it can have a negative impact on their mental health. Therefore, it is critical to intervene at this stage in their life so that they are prepared to deal with the pressures they will face in the future. The aim of this study was to see how music education affects university students’ mental health, with emotional intelligence functioning as a moderator. The participants in this research were graduate students pursuing degrees in music education. Non probability convenience sampling technique was used to collect and evaluate the data from 265 students studying in different public and private Chinese universities. The data was gathered at a time, and therefore, the study is cross-sectional. The data was collected from January 2022 till the end of March 2022. Many universities have been closed because to COVID-19, therefore data was also gathered online through emails. The data was analyzed quantitatively using the partial least squares (PLS)–structural equation modeling (SEM) technique. The findings backed up the hypotheses. The results revealed that there is a significant effect of music education on student’s mental health. Also, emotional intelligence as a moderator significantly and positively moderates the relationship between music education and students’ mental health. Music has numerous physiological aspects, and listening to it on a daily basis may be beneficial to your general health and well-being. Furthermore, musicians and music students with a high level of emotional intelligence have a better chance of not just performing well in school, college and university or in the music industry, but also of maintaining mental health and improving it.

Associations of Psychological Capital, Coping Style and Emotional Intelligence with Self-Rated Health Status of College Students in China During COVID-19 Pandemic

“…47 High emotional intelligence could significantly alleviate the anxiety, maintaining mental health for students during the pandemic. 12 , 13 Moreover, it has been shown that psychological support might mitigate the effect of COVID-19-caused stress in university students in Bangladesh during COVID-19 pandemic 20 and that individuals with more psychological support had better mental health status. 19 In consistence with this principle, our study showed that at the same level of emotional intelligence, college students with a high psychological capital score had better self-rated health state than those with a low one.…”

“… 12 Wang et al reported that professional students who had a high level of emotional intelligence could keep mental health better during the pandemic. 13 …”

“…12 Wang et al reported that professional students who had a high level of emotional intelligence could keep mental health better during the pandemic. 13 Psychological capital refers to a set of resources an individual can use to help improve their performance on the job and their success. It consists of four aspects: self-efficacy (confidence), optimism, hope and resilience.…”

Associations of psychological capital, coping style and emotional intelligence with self-rated health status of college students in China during COVID-19 pandemic

“…Similarly, Hafsa and colleagues also observed a positive correlation between emotional intelligence and loneliness in adolescents 47 . High emotional intelligence could signi cantly alleviate the anxiety, maintaining mental health for student during the pandemic 12,13 . Moreover, it has been shown that psychological support might mitigate the effect of COVID-19-caused stress in university students in Bangladesh during COVID-19 pandemic 20 , and that individuals with more psychological support had better mental health status 19 .…”

“…Wang and colleagues reported that professional students who had a high level of emotional intelligence could keep mental health better during the pandemic 13 .…”