The Association Between Music Engagement and Self-Reported Mental Health
Music is widely used for mood regulation, stress relief, and social connection, but individuals differ in how music relates to their mental well-being. Using the public Music & Mental Health (MxMH) survey dataset (N = 736) hosted on Kaggle, this paper examines whether everyday music listening and perceived effects of music are associated with self-reported symptoms of depression and related concerns. Respondents reported average daily music listening (hours/day), several music-engagement characteristics, and symptom ratings for anxiety, depression, insomnia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) on 0–10 scales.
Two research questions guided the analysis: (1) Is time spent listening to music associated with higher or lower depression scores? and (2) Do depression scores differ across participants who report that music improves, worsens, or does not affect their mental health? Statistical analyses included Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression, as well as nonparametric group comparisons (Kruskal–Wallis and Mann– Whitney U tests). Listening time showed a small positive association with depression (r = 0.111, p = 0.003).
In a regression model adjusting for age and select listening-context variables, hours/day remained a modest predictor of depression (b = 0.089, p = 0.022), while age was negatively associated with depression (b = -0.028, p = 0.003). Depression scores differed across perceived music-effect groups (Kruskal–Wallis H = 13.40, p = 0.001), with the “worsen” group reporting higher depression than both the “improve” and “no effect” groups. Limitations include self-report measurement, cross-sectional design, and potential selection bias. Although several associations reached statistical significance, effect sizes were small, underscoring the need for cautious interpretation.
DOI: 10.29245/2578-2959/2026/1.1366 View / Download PdfCommentary: Association between coping of the primary caregiver and the adolescent patient with cancer
In this commentary, I synthesize and clinically contextualize findings from our recent study on coping interdependence in adolescent patient–primary caregiver dyads, “Association between coping of the primary caregiver and the adolescent patient with cancer”1. The study demonstrated that coping in adolescent patients with cancer and their primary caregivers operates as an interdependent and compensatory emotional system rather than as two parallel individual processes. This perspective challenges traditional clinical assumptions and supports a paradigm shift toward dyad-centered care. Here, I offer a critical synthesis of the study, discuss its implications for psycho-oncology practice, and outline concrete directions for developing brief, culturally sensitive interventions focused on the adolescent patient–primary caregiver dyadic relationship.
DOI: 10.29245/2578-2959/2026/1.1361 View / Download PdfSchema mode networks for borderline, avoidant and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
This study aims to examine differences between schema mode networks of borderline, avoidant, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders. We seek to determine whether the networks identified through network analysis align with theoretical assumptions about each disorder’s mode model.
We conducted a cross-sectional study using the Short Schema Mode Inventory (SMI) data from client of The Viersprong, National Institute of Personality Disorders that started treatment between 2012–2023. Diagnoses were based on Structured Clinical Interview interviews, and we focused on patients with borderline (n=386), avoidant (n=504), and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (n=129). Network analyses were performed on the 14 schema modes as measured by the SMI using regularized partial correlations. Centrality metrics and group comparisons were conducted to examine diagnostic differences in mode networks.
Significant mean differences were found across all schema modes between the three groups. The networks for the borderline, avoidant, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders groups were of considerable similarity.
Contrary to our hypothesis, mode networks showed notable overlap across the borderline, avoidant, and obsessive-compulsive PD groups. This finding raises questions about the added value of tailoring Schema Therapy interventions strictly based on diagnosis-specific mode patterns, although further research is needed to clarify the clinical relevance of these similarities.
Key Practitioner Message
- Mean scores on the modes can be used to differentiate between borderline, avoidant, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders.
- Although mean levels of the modes vary across the different personality disorders investigated in this study, we found no evidence for differences in the relationship between the modes (the mode network) of these personality disorders.
- Schema mode patterns showed considerable similarity across different personality disorders, raising questions about the added value of diagnosis-specific adaptations to Schema Therapy.
Perceived Scarcity as a Health Determinant in Adult Sickle Cell Disease
Sickle cell disease (SCD) and other hemoglobinopathies present a compelling case for examining how perceived scarcity operates as an understudied yet essential social determinant of health. While traditional frameworks have focused on objective measures of poverty and resource deprivation, the construct of perceived scarcity encompasses subjective experiences of inadequacy across material, temporal, and psychological domains. This conceptual review proposes that perceived scarcity may function as a mediating mechanism through which structural disadvantage, systemic racism, and chronic illness burden converge to shape clinical outcomes in African American and global populations affected by hemoglobinopathies. Drawing upon behavioral economics, neuroscience, health psychology, and social epidemiology, we examine how perceived scarcity may contribute to neurobiological and cognitive changes, including tunneling, executive function impairment, and maladaptive coping patterns. We propose that perceived scarcity may operate as a distinct pathway from objective poverty, creating psychological states that fundamentally alter decision-making capacity, stress physiology, and health behaviors among individuals managing complex chronic illnesses. This framework suggests capitalist economic structures and systemic racism may contribute to scarcity experiences that transcend individual circumstances, creating cyclical patterns of disadvantage particularly pronounced among marginalized communities. We identify critical gaps in current research methodologies and propose that the Perceived Scarcity Scale may offer a more nuanced assessment than traditional socioeconomic measures for understanding health disparities in hemoglobinopathies. This analysis offers a theoretical foundation and conceptual model for developing interventions that address the psychological and social roots of health inequities rather than merely treating material symptoms.
DOI: 10.29245/2578-2959/2026/1.1363 View / Download Pdf