Cultivating Self-Compassion Through Music Listening

Abstract

Music listening exerts a powerful effect on human emotion. However, self-compassion, a strong predictor of mental health, has received little attention in existing music listening literature. As such, this study seeks to advance the current literature by investigating music listening and its role in cultivating self-compassion with a primary focus on its three key aspects: self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness, as well as its opposite elements: self-judgement, isolation, and overidentification. As a result of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, many people have experienced increased mental health concerns, feelings of isolation, and depression, with research indicating that young adul..