Jordan Joseph Ash and Dr. Shane Reece, Statistics

Music therapy seeks to take advantage of specific sounds and rhythms that promote physical, mental, social, emotional, and spiritual well-being. While the physiological benefits of music have long been recognized, there have been few attempts to quantify the results and document their application. This paper seeks to provide numerical evidence of the effects of music on destitute children in third-world settings.

Music indigenous to each locale was selected based on slow, consistent rhythm and moderate variation in pitch and loudness. The children tested were in groups ranging from ten to fortyfive. These groups contained boys and girls below the age of thirteen. Trials were conducted in thirty-minute intervals, during which the children were similarly treated. After fifteen minutes in the presence or absence of music, children were randomly selected from the group for testing. Heart rates were measured to determine the mean levels of anxiety in each trial. The conditions of the study were as follows:

Null Hypothesis: Sample groups subject to music will not differ in average heart rate from those not subject to music. (Ho: μ1 =μ2)

Alternate Hypothesis: The average heart rate of sample groups subject to music will be less than the average for those not subject to music. (Ha: μ2<μ1)

Level of significance (á) = 0.05

Assumptions:

1. the average heart rate for a large sample (n30) is equal to the average for the population.

2. heart rate is an accurate measurement of stress and anxiety.1 Results are indicated in Table 1 and Graph 1 below.

1. country:music H0: there is no interaction between country and music.
Ha: there exists interaction between country and music.
Results: Reject the null hypothesis.

2. country H0: μI=μA there is no difference in the results due to country.
Ha: μIμ A there exists a difference in the results due to country.
Results: Fail to reject H0.

3. music H0: μN=μM there is no difference in measured heart rate in the presence or absence of music.
Ha: μNμ M there exists a difference in measured heart rate in the presence or absence of music.
Results: Reject H0.

4. gender H0: μM=μF there is no difference in heart rate and response due to gender.
Ha: μMμ F there exists a difference in heart rate and response due to gender.
Results: Fail to Reject H0.

Discussion:

The results indicate that music significantly reduces the levels of anxiety (as measured by heart rate) of children in Mozambique and India. Music is therefore an effective instrument in calming and controlling children in medical facilities and orphanages in third-world countries. This is valuable information for those who often experience great difficulty in caring for children in these circumstances.

It is interesting to note that African children show a significantly greater response to music than do Indian children. I believe there may be multiple explanations for the difference. Music is considered an important part of any culture. However, African tradition and culture appears to be centered on their music, which consists of strong, hypnotic rhythms and low soothing tones. Indian culture, on the other hand, appears more complex, relying relatively less on music. Traditional Indian music often consists of high, wailing sounds echoing across a soft, steady beat. While children accustomed to either style of music would find it soothing, the stronger dependence on music observed in Africa might lead to the more significant response observed in African children.

One other explanation may be a difference in the frequency of exposure to music. While the children studied in both Africa and India live in destitute circumstances, the poverty in Mozambique greatly exceeds that in Bapatla. Music is often heard on the streets near the orphanage and health clinic in India. The children there even have access to a radio and regularly listen and dance to the music. The children in Mozambique, however, rarely enjoy the music that plays such a central role in their culture. Consequently when they are exposed to music, the African children show a greater response.

Additional experiments in Asia and South America would provide an interesting comparison of the relative effects of music on children in different cultures.