Music as a mirror?: popular music lyrics and the COVID-19 health pandemic

Research on the relationship between significant global, socioeconomic developments and lyrical themes in pop music have indicated that deteriorating conditions are associated with an increase in negative emotional content and reproductive themes. The present research considers the presence of lyrical themes in charting pop music during the COVID-19 pandemic. We hypothesise that top-ranked weekly singles on the USA, UK and Australian charts throughout the COVID-19 pandemic would contain more negatively valenced lyrics than the charting songs during corresponding periods in previous years. Diction 7.0 software, a text analysis program designed to analyse content of a wide variety of social discourse, was used to analyse the song lyrics. A dataset was created based on the song lyrics of the top 5 weekly songs in the USA, UK and Australia from March-August 2020 and the songs charting between March-August of 2015-2019. Results from statistical analyses that consider the hypotheses will be discussed in the presentation. The findings are expected to broaden our understanding of the relationship between significant global events (i.e., health pandemics) and trends in popular music. Moreover, implications concerning how people use music as a comforting tool will be considered

How music listening can support perinatal maternal well-being

Introduction: The transition period to motherhood for first-time mothers can be characterized by psychological distress, negatively impacting maternal-infant bonding, familial relationships, infant development, and mothers’ functional ability and well-being. Inadequate support during the perinatal period increases mothers’ risk of psychological distress, as a result of limited support from health services, financial barriers to paid services, and limited accessibility in rural and remote areas. What type of music listening resources might support maternal well-being in the perinatal period? The present scoping review aimed to consolidate evidence-based knowledge on the role of music listening for maternal well-being during the intrapartum period. Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Review (PRISMA-ScR) protocol was used (Tricco, et al., 2018). The search, conducted in March 2023, used PsycArticles, PsycInfo, Pubmed, Sage journals, Web of Science, Wiley, Medline, Scopus, Emcare on OVID, JStor, CINAHL, and EBSCO online library databases. Keywords for the search included: music AND listen*, AND perinatal OR peri natal OR perinatal OR prenatal OR pre natal OR pre-natal OR pregnan* OR labour OR labor OR birth OR intrapartum OR antepartum. English language, peer-reviewed publications between 2002 and 2022 about research specifically related to mothers’ during the intrapartum period were included. To focus on music listening, articles focused on studies and interventions other than music listening (e.g., group music lessons, singing) were excluded. Additionally, articles focused only on fertility, contraception, neonatal outcomes, or child outcomes were excluded in order to focus on the mother’s experiences during the intrapartum period. Results: Analysis of the scoping review is currently underway. Preliminary results suggest that results concerning music listening can be grouped under three themes: while pregnant (e.g., reducing stress, anxiety and depression and improving sleep quality; while in labour (reducing mothers’ stress, anxiety, and fears, providing a distraction, reducing pain/medication), and regarding longer-term consequences (increasing maternal-infant bonding and self-efficacy, decreasing the risk of postanal depression). As Robb et al. (2018) found, there is varied reporting regarding the stimuli or resources used in these studies; however, we anticipate that resulting resources might include specific songs (e.g., Spotify playlists, CDs) as well as activity parameters (e.g., instructions to listen for certain lengths/intervals or when undergoing specific activities). Discussion: By establishing the evidence base for music listening during the intrapartum period, our study has identified (the types of) music listening resources that can be added to an online resource centre for mothers. Doing so affords expectant mothers access to low-cost, evidence-based resources, aimed at reducing their likelihood of anxiety and depression pre-/post-natally. In particular, online resources provided by the scoping review enable expectant mothers within rural and remote communities who are physically isolated and face challenges accessing services the opportunity to improve their maternal self-efficacy and psychological well-being

Examining a Crowd-Sourced COVID-19 Pandemic Playlist

An examination of charting popular music before and during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic indicated that popular music lyrics during turbulent socioeconomic conditions had more negatively valenced words. However, the use of chart data cannot speak to what individuals are listening to against the backdrop of COVID-19. The present mixed-methods study examined a crowdsourced, collaborative, publicly available playlist (n = 55 songs) created by Australian residents who were currently experiencing extended lockdown in September-October 2021 in order to continue to develop our understanding of how music can influence our well-being. Qualitative analysis of the song lyrics of the chosen music expresses a sense of uncertainty, loneliness, and resilience, as well as references to hygiene and illness, community, perseverance and a will to survive. Quantitative analyses were performed to compare the chosen ‘pandemic playlist’ songs to charting songs during the first six months of the pandemic in 2020 and the same period in 2021 (n = 28 and 26 songs respectively). Analyses considered the musical features (using data scraped using the Spotify API) and the lyrical content (using Diction). Findings indicated that the songs included in the ‘pandemic playlist’ differed significantly from the charting songs in 2020 and 2021 by being higher in energy and less acoustic. Additionally, the lyrics of the songs in the ‘pandemic playlist’ had significantly more positively valenced words. These findings broaden our understanding of music listening behaviours and well-being in the context of significant global events, such as extended lockdowns to combat COVID-19

Popular music lyrics and the COVID-19 pandemic

A limited amount of previous research suggests that deteriorating socioeconomic conditions may be associated with greater popularity of music lyrics featuring negative emotional content and references to relationships. The present research considered this in charting popular music before and during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic. A dataset based on the song lyrics of the top-5 charting weekly songs in the UK and USA from January 1999 to August 2020 was computer-analysed for interpersonal variables, such as satisfaction and human interest, and positive and negative emotional valence. Results indicated lower satisfaction and human interest in lyrics in the USA and UK in the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the lyrics in charting songs in 2015-2019. The USA charting songs in 2020 also saw higher leveling and negative emotional content; and, when considering monthly data from 1999-2020, there was a positive association between economic misery and the number of negatively-valenced words. The findings broaden our understanding of the relationship between significant global events and trends in popular music

Strengthening Peer Mentoring Relationships for New Mothers: A Qualitative Analysis

(1) Background: The transition to motherhood can be challenging, especially for first-time mothers, and can accompany maternal distress. Social support—such as that offered by peers— can be important in assisting mothers to manage such distress. Although primiparous mothers often seek out and value peer support programs, few researchers have investigated factors that may influence the strength of relationships in non-professional maternal peer support programs. Insight into these factors can be key to enhancing the success of future peer support interventions. (2) Methods: Reflexive thematic analysis was applied to data gathered from 36 semi-structured interviews conducted with 14 primiparous mothers and 17 peer mentors in a peer support program. (3) Results: Four themes related to successful mentorship were identified: expectations of peer relationship, independence of peer mentor, contact, and similarities. (4) Conclusions: For primiparous mothers who are developing their support network, these factors appear important for promoting close and effective peer support relationships. Interventions that harness the dynamics between these factors may contribute to more successful peer support relationships and mental health outcomes for participants

Influence of individual differences on perceptions of hypothetical rap music fans

Research on perceptions of rap lyricists and fans suggest that rap music is disproportionately associated with criminality and negative personality traits relative to other genres. Using a 2 (gender of the hypothetical fan) x 2 (inclusion of rap lyrics) x 2 (accusation of murder) research design whereby participants were randomly assigned to one of eight conditions and then asked to evaluate the hypothetical target, the present research has replicated prior findings that participants exposed to inflammatory rap lyrics rated the fan as significantly more capable of murder, likely to be a gang member, and as having more negative dispositional traits than those not exposed to lyrics. However, in addition, we were interested in the influence of the participants’ own personality traits and perceptions of rap music on their perceptions of the target rap fan. Findings from analyses currently underway will be discussed. Our findings are expected to broaden our understanding of potential jurors’ perceptions of accused offenders based on the offenders’ music genre preferences, and, therefore, have implications concerning stereotypes and the use of rap lyrics as evidence in criminal trials

Music listening for maternal well-being during pregnancy and labour

As part of a broader project focused on bolstering maternal self-efficacy and psychological well-being through a peer support program that includes educational resources, the present research involves undertaking a scoping review. The aim of the scoping review is to consolidate evidence-based knowledge on the role of music listening for maternal well-being during the pre-natal and delivery periods. Preliminary search results suggest that music listening is effective in reducing mothers’ stress, anxiety, and depression levels, improving sleep quality, and is associated with an increase in maternal-infant bonding and maternal self-efficacy. The results have implications for developing a suite of online resources that will be available via a webapp. The goal is to include practical information as well as music-related activities that are easy to use

Examining the Lyrical Content and Musical Features of a Crowd-Sourced, Australian Pandemic Playlist

A recent examination of charting popular music before and during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic indicated that popular music lyrics during turbulent socioeconomic conditions had more negatively valenced words, providing support for the Environmental Security Hypothesis. However, the use of chart data alone cannot speak to what individuals are listening to against the backdrop of COVID-19. The present mixed-methods case study examined a crowd-sourced playlist ( n  = 55 songs) created by Australian residents during an extended lockdown in September–October 2021. Qualitative analysis of the lyrics demonstrated that the selected music expresses a closeness to others, references to the current situation (such as illness and staying at home), negative emotions (including confusion and fear), a positive outlook (expressing perseverance and a will to survive), and a changing sense of time. Quantitative analyses compared the “pandemic playlist” songs to charting songs during the first six months of the pandemic in 2020 and the same period in 2021 ( n  = 28 and 26 songs, respectively) with regard to their musical features (using scraped Spotify API data) and lyrical content (using Diction). The findings indicated that the songs included in the “pandemic playlist” differed significantly from the charting songs in 2020 and 2021 by being higher in energy (relative to 2020 and 2021) and less acoustic (relative to 2021). Additionally, the lyrics of the “pandemic playlist” songs had significantly more positively valenced words. These differences suggest that people believed music selected in response to the pandemic ought to be upbeat and realistic (playlist suggestions), but popular songs were relatively pensive and reflected uncertainty and isolation (chart data). These findings broaden our understanding of music listening behaviors in response to societal stress

Perceptions of a family-based lifestyle intervention for children with overweight and obesity: a qualitative study on sustainability, self-regulation, and program optimization

Background Family-based lifestyle interventions (FBLIs) are an important method for treating childhood weight problems. Despite being recognized as an effective intervention method, the optimal structure of these interventions for children’s overweight and obesity has yet to be determined. Our aim was to better understand participants’ (a) implementation of behaviour strategies and long-term outcomes, (b) perceptions regarding the optimal structure of FBLIs, and (c) insights into psychological concepts that may explain the success of these programs. Methods Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants. We conducted focus groups as well as one-to-one interviews with parents (n = 53) and children (n = 50; aged 7–13, M = 9.4 yr, SD = 3.1) three months following their involvement in a 10-week, multi-component, FBLI involving education and activities relating to healthy nutrition, physical activity, and behavior modification. Using an interpretivist approach, a qualitative study design was employed to examine participant experiences. Results We identified three higher-order categories: (a) participants’ program experiences and perceptions (b) lifestyle changes post-program, and (c) recommendations for optimizing family-based programs. Themes identified within these categories included (a) support and structure & content, (b) diet and physical activity, and (c) in-program recommendations and post-program recommendations. Conclusions We identified several challenges that can impair lasting behavior change (e.g., physical activity participation) following involvement in a FBLI. On optimizing these programs, participants emphasized fun, interactive content, interpersonal support, appropriate educational content, and behavior change techniques. Concepts rooted in motivational theory could help address calls for greater theoretical and mechanistic insight in FBLIs. Findings may support research advancement and assist health professionals to more consistently realize the potential of these interventions.Education, Faculty ofNon UBCKinesiology, School ofReviewedFacultyResearche