How Can We Help? Wellbeing Interventions for Choral Music Ensembles

NCT07298031 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: STUDY00000298
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 200
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if psychology and music based interventions can impact anxiety and overall wellbeing in adolescents enrolled in choral music classes. The main questions it aims to answer are: Do specific psychology and music based breathing interventions impact anxiety and overall wellbeing in adolescents? Do specific psychology and music based performance anxiety reduction interventions impact anxiety and overall wellbeing in adolescents? Do specific psychology and music based emotion regulation interventions impact anxiety and overall wellbeing in adolescents? Researchers will compare results of pre-test data, post-test data, qualitative interviews, and surveys of adult choral directors to see if there is a measurable impact on adolescent anxiety and overall wellbeing. Participants will:

• Use box breathing during choral music warm-ups to connect choral breathing to breathing for anxiety reduction
• Use "magnify" technique to compare cognitive distortions regarding an upcoming performance that may cause anxiety to the most likely realistic outcome
• Use emotion regulation through song lyrics technique to connect lyrics of choral music repertoire to participants experienced emotions

Conditions

Anxiety; Well-Being (Psychological Flourishing); Performance Anxiety

Keywords

Choral music; Wellbeing; Music; Anxiety; Performance anxiety

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Change in Anxiety

  Measured quantitatively through: -pre-test and post-test data Measured qualitatively through: * Student interview questions exploring experiences of anxiety and use of breathing and "Magnify" techniques * Qualitative responses to open-ended post-test survey items * Choir director observations of anxiety and performance anxiety (open-ended director survey)

  From enrollment to choir director survey 4 weeks later

• Change in Emotion Regulation

  Measured quantitatively through: -pre-test and post-test data Measured qualitatively through: * Student interview questions exploring emotional processing during the music-based intervention * Post-test open-ended responses regarding emotion regulation * Choir director survey reporting observed changes in students' emotion regulation

  From enrollment to the choir director survey 4 weeks post intervention

• Change in Well-Being

  Measured quantitatively through: -pre-test and post-test data Measured qualitatively through: * Interview comments about perceived overall well-being changes * Open-ended post-test items about intervention effectiveness

  From enrollment to second post-test administration one week after intervention

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Change in Musicality and Emotional Engagement in Music

  From enrollment to choir director survey 4 weeks after intervention

Study Arms (1)

Choral Interventions

EXPERIMENTAL

The interventions include box breathing, "Magnify", and emotion regulation through choral literature.

Behavioral: Box breathing; Behavioral: Magnify; Behavioral: Emotion regulation through choral literature

Interventions

Magnify BEHAVIORAL

This is a mindfulness-based technique that pulls from Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy techniques that is referred to colloquially as "what would happen if" or "magnify", used to examine cognitive distortions and reframe them to be more in line with reality. Students will be asked to think about an upcoming performance that may make them feel anxious and come up with a catastrophic scenario where everything that could possibly go wrong does go wrong, making note of the likelihood of the catastrophe. Students will internally come up with a best-case scenario and likelihood, and finally a most likely scenario somewhere between the best and worst case options.

Choral Interventions

Box breathing BEHAVIORAL

Students will be led through a standard choral music breathing technique known as abdominal breathing, where they are reminded that a deep breath should cause your abdomen to expand to make more room in the lungs for air. After 2-3 standard deep breaths, they will be introduced to box breathing, which is an inhale for 4 beats, hold for 4 beats, exhale for 4 beats, hold for 4 beats, and repeat. Students will be told that this technique is useful for improving choral singing but can also be used in situations where the student is experiencing anxiety.

Choral Interventions

Emotion regulation through choral literature BEHAVIORAL

This intervention will use choral music literature to help students identify emotions, connect those emotions to their own experiences, and use the choral music literature to experience and work through those emotions in a safe environment. The choir will read through the lyrics of the chosen song, then narrow down the emotions referred to in the song using a list of possible emotions provided by the researcher. Students will recall an event in their own lives where they experienced that emotion, which they are not required to share out loud. With that emotion in mind, students will sing through the choral music piece, taking care to connect their own emotional experience with what they are singing. After the song, students will be asked to reflect on whether their own experiences with that emotion changed their perspective on the song, and whether singing about the emotion helped them work through their own situations and regulate their feelings.

Choral Interventions

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 10 Years - 20 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Enrolled in 6th through 12th grade at selected schools
• Enrolled in choir at the selected schools

You may not qualify if:

• None

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Jess Walls: lead

Study Sites (1)

Fort Bend ISD

Sugar Land, Texas, 77479, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Anxiety Disorders

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Jane Kuehne, PhD

  Auburn University

  STUDY CHAIR

Central Study Contacts

Jess Walls, PhD Candidate

CONTACT

817-287-8333; jdw0169@auburn.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Model Details: All study participants in the experimental group will receive the same interventions

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 11, 2025
• First Posted: December 22, 2025
• Study Start: January 1, 2026
• Primary Completion: February 1, 2026
• Study Completion: April 1, 2026
• Last Updated: December 29, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-12

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)