Lockdown music listening: A mixed methods, multinational study exploring social uses of music listening and anxiety during social distancing in the first wave of COVID-19

Objective: The social distancing and isolation measures used to minimise the spread of COVID-19

have negatively impacted anxiety levels. It has been demonstrated that music listening can help reduce

anxiety and the current pandemic has called for an examination of the extent to which music listening

may be important when social interaction is limited.

Method: An online mixed methods survey involving both Likert scale and open-ended questions was

conducted to understand the associations between anxiety, music use and social uses of music

listening during the pandemic. A total of 196 participants from 24 countries completed the survey

between July and August 2020.

Results: Anxiety appeared significantly heightened in those who rated music as more important to

them during the pandemic compared to before. Qualitative content analysis confirmed the ubiquitous

nature of music in everyday life. Affect regulation was a prominent function of music listening in the

data, which is in line with previous research. The majority of shared music listening experiences

evoked positivity, connectedness and provided a sense of normality for listeners.

Conclusions: The accessibility and feasibility of music listening interventions during social isolation

aligns with research priorities for interventions to target the psychological distress caused by the

pandemic.