The Role of Solo Music Listening in Reducing Loneliness and Increasing Social Connectedness in Older Adults

March 20, 2026 updated by: Frank Russo, Toronto Metropolitan University
Loneliness has become an increasingly prevalent concern among older adults. A number of adverse physical and mental health outcomes may result from loneliness in this age group including cognitive decline and depression. These outcomes may lead to a higher strain on healthcare systems. Finding accessible and cost-effective strategies for reducing loneliness and increasing feelings of social connectedness is important for the well-being of older adults. Solo music listening is commonly used to regulate emotions and to promote well-being. While some preliminary evidence suggests that these benefits may extend to loneliness, research has not been clear on the functions or qualities of music that are most effective for older adults. This research project will consist of two parts. In Part 1, an interview will be conducted with older adults to determine what functions of music are most often used and most beneficial when their goal is to reduce loneliness. Part 2 will consist of a between-subjects experiment with four conditions. The top three characteristics obtained from Part 1 will represent the three music conditions, and the fourth condition will be a pink-noise control. Prior to the experiment, participants will self-select three pieces from each of the three music conditions. After selecting their music, they will be randomly assigned to either a music or pink-noise condition. Participants in the three music conditions will listen to the three self-selected pieces that adhere to their assigned condition. Loneliness and social connection outcomes will be assessed before and after listening using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Potential moderators will be assessed after listening, which include nostalgia, absorption in music, and music reward. The results of this project will clarify whether psychological benefits of decreased loneliness and increased social connectedness can be found through music listening to enhance well-being, and whether singing along provides additional benefits. These findings may also be useful in developing future music-based interventions for reducing loneliness.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

120

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 Contact Backup

  • Name: Kay Wright-Whyte, MSc
  • Phone Number: 554989 416-979-5000
  • Email: kww@torontomu.ca

Study Locations

  • Canada
    • Ontario
      • Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5B 2K3
        • Toronto Metropolitan University
        • Contact:
          • Kay Wright-Whyte, MSc
          • Phone Number: 554989 416-979-5000
          • Email: kww@torontomu.ca
        • Contact:

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

  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Over the age of 70
  • Access to internet

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Cognitive Impairment
  • Self-reported hearing loss

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Music condition 1: Nostalgic music
First type of music that participants could be assigned to listen to. Participants will listen to three pieces of self-selected music that correspond to their assigned music condition.
Behavioral: Music condition 1: Nostalgic music
First type of music that participants could be assigned to listen to. Participants will listen to three pieces of self-selected music that correspond to their assigned music condition.
Experimental: Music condition 2: Comforting music
Second type of music that participants could be assigned to listen to. Participants will listen to three pieces of self-selected music that correspond to their assigned music condition.
Behavioral: Music condition 2: Comforting music
Second type of music that participants could be assigned to listen to. Participants will listen to three pieces of self-selected music that correspond to their assigned music condition.
Sham Comparator: Control condition (pink-noise)
Pink-noise control condition for approximately 15 minutes.
Behavioral: Control condition (pink-noise)
Participants will listen to pink-noise sound for approximately 15 minutes.
Experimental: Music condition 3: Distracting music
Third type of music that participants could be assigned to listen to. Participants will listen to three pieces of self-selected music that correspond to their assigned music condition.
Behavioral: Music condition 3: Distracting music
Third type of music that participants could be assigned to listen to. Participants will listen to three pieces of self-selected music that correspond to their assigned music condition.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change from Baseline in Loneliness Score After Music Listening
Time Frame: Measured immediately before and immediately after music listening
State Loneliness measured with a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) on a scale from 0-100. 0 indicating lower loneliness, 100 indicating higher loneliness.
Measured immediately before and immediately after music listening
Change from Baseline in Social Connectedness Score After Music Listening
Time Frame: Measured immediately before and immediately after music listening
Self-reported social connectedness measured using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) from 0-100. 0 indicating lower social connectedness and 100 indicating higher social connectedness.
Measured immediately before and immediately after music listening

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Toronto Metropolitan University

Collaborators

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Frank Russo, PhD, Toronto Metropolitan University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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 (Estimated)

March 15, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 20, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 20, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 11, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 20, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

March 27, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 27, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 20, 2026

Last Verified

March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 021SL Music & Loneliness

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Individual de-identified participant data for all baseline and outcome data will be shared on the Open Science Framework.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Data will become available available on the Open Science Framework (osf.io) when the pre-print of the study is uploaded to PsyArXiv. Data will be available on OSF indefinitely.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

All supporting information will be publicly accessible on the Open Science Framework (osf.io)

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ICF

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.

Clinical Trials on Loneliness

Clinical Trials on Music condition 1: Nostalgic music

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Oman

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Subscribe