Aggression in Children Caused by Music

Music has the ability to cause emotional and neurological effects on the human brain. Melodic pulses can calm and pacify us in seconds. Put a classical CD into your car stereo and listen as your infant’s cries suddenly lessen, then stop. However, studies have shown that music can also incite aggression in children.

Aggression

• Aggression comes in a variety of forms. It can be physical, mental and verbal. According to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network, some children fail to develop self-regulatory controls for aggressive feelings and can become violent. Though there are many psychological and physical issues that can cause aggression in children, a paper published in 1996, indicates that aggression might be correlated with the neurotransmitter, serotonin, as decreases of serotonin can increase violence in humans.

Effects

• Past studies have already linked music to animal aggression. Physicist Harvey Bird and neurobiologist Gervasia Schreckenberg proved that mice exposed to voodoo drumming performed increasingly worse over time as the exposure to the voodoo music continued. Eventually they became disoriented and were unable to finish the maze.

  Therefore, music contributing to aggression in children is not such a stretch. A study done by Eliana Tropeano at Western Connecticut State University in 2006 found that children exposed to violent music videos gave violent responses to questions about fictitious scenarios upon viewing the videos, whereas children not exposed to the videos gave non-violent responses to similar scenarios.

Types of Music

• Heavy Metal, Hard Rock and Rap are the three major musical genres which seem to inspire children to act out violently. However, voodoo drumming and negative music (the background music that elicits anxiety and suspense during scary movies) can also increase aggression.

Considerations

• According to a study done at the Department of Music Therapy at Daejeon University, music intervention helped suppress aggression and elevate self-esteem in children with violent behavior problems. The children who were exposed to relaxing music improved their mood and their ability to control their anger better than children who were not exposed to the music.

  This study indicates that music can actually help to heal children with aggressive tendencies. A study done by the University of Belfast’s psychology department in 1997 produced similar results, when aggressive dogs were exposed to classical music. The dogs became more relaxed and tended to rest longer than dogs exposed to no music or heavy metal music.

Types of Music that Heal Aggression

• Classical, jazz and new age music are thought to elevate the moods of children. Even Indian sitar music has its benefits in increasing mood, according to Dorothy Retallack, a pioneer in the studies on music and feelings. Violins and harps are the two types of instruments found to elicit relaxation and calm in humans and animals.