Evaluating the Impact of Social Music

February 10, 2026 updated by: Yale University

Evaluating the Impact of Community-Based Mindfulness and Musical Programs on Psychiatric Measures, Social Music Study 2b.

Mental health vulnerability due to stress is increased in People of African Descent (PADs) in America due to disproportionate effects of racism, poverty, education, and criminal justice sentencing. Various meditation and mindfulness approaches have provided evidence of measured reductions in multiple negative dimensions of stress. However, the majority of these studies do not have an adequate representation of PADs or other marginalized groups and are not designed to be culturally relevant or community based. Music has been shown to alleviate multiple symptoms of stress and has been shown to be a preferred and effective support for meditation and mindfulness. However, its role in stress management in PADs engaged in meditation or mindfulness is seldom studied. This study aims to evaluate the effects of a virtual, community-based music mindfulness program on stress management in PAD community members with anxiety and depression during COVID19.

2b. Social Music Study: Investigators will assess the neural mechanisms of feelings of subjective connectedness during communal music listening and creating between dyads of subjects who are both familiar and unfamiliar with each other.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The investigators also propose a study to investigate the effects of communal drumming in reducing anxiety and increasing connectedness within drum circle community. Investigators hypothesize that these intervention will lead to reductions in scores on stress scales and will provide preliminary data for studies evaluating these types of community programs as an adjunct to the standard of care.

Participants will be screened, consented, and enrolled in dyads in a paradigm in which they will be positioned across from each other while listening to various types of music (i.e. music that is harmonically-intact and music in which the harmonic content has been randomly scrambled).

Survey data will also be collected to assess variables such as musical experience, partner familiarity, perceived stress, etc.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

48

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Connecticut
      • New Haven, Connecticut, United States, 06515
        • Recruiting
        • BLOOM
      • New Haven, Connecticut, United States, 06520
        • Recruiting
        • Musical Intervention Studios

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • ages 16 and older

Exclusion Criteria:

  • contraindications to functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy or Electroencephalography
  • ages 15 and younger

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Component 2b. Social Music Study
Investigators will assess the neural mechanisms of feelings of subjective connectedness during communal music listening and creating between dyads of subjects who are both familiar and unfamiliar with each other
Behavioral: Music
Participants in dyads will be positioned across from each other while listening to various types of music (i.e. music that is harmonically-intact and music in which the harmonic content has been randomly scrambled).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
EEG gamma and theta activity during music vs no music conditions
Time Frame: baseline measurements on day of study, during music vs no music conditions, and 30 minutes after music listening
EEG gamma and theta activity measured by the Post Spectral Density measures in the gamma range (>30Hz) and theta (4-8Hz) frequency ranges during music vs no music conditions.
baseline measurements on day of study, during music vs no music conditions, and 30 minutes after music listening

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Mean score subjective rating of social connection during session
Time Frame: baseline measurements on day of study, during music vs no music conditions, and 30 minutes after music listening
Rating of subjective connectedness will be assessed using a Likert scale with total score range from 1-5, with higher scores indicating more connectedness.
baseline measurements on day of study, during music vs no music conditions, and 30 minutes after music listening

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Yale University

Collaborators

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: AZA Allsop, MD, PhD, Yale University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

August 1, 2024

Primary Completion (Estimated)

March 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

March 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 10, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 19, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

July 22, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 12, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 10, 2026

Last Verified

February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2000028866_b
  • 2R25MH071584-11 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

De-identified, aggregate data will be shared through pre-prints, publications, and community town hall meetings.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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