The Role of Solo Music Listening in Reducing Loneliness and Increasing Social Connectedness in Older Adults

Overview

Loneliness has become an increasingly prevalent concern among older adults. A number of adverse physical and mental health outcomes may result from loneliness in this age group including cognitive decline and depression. These outcomes may lead to a higher strain on healthcare systems. Finding accessible and cost-effective strategies for reducing loneliness and increasing feelings of social connectedness is important for the well-being of older adults. Solo music listening is commonly used to regulate emotions and to promote well-being. While some preliminary evidence suggests that these benefits may extend to loneliness, research has not been clear on the functions or qualities of music that are most effective for older adults. This research project will consist of two parts. In Part 1, an interview will be conducted with older adults to determine what functions of music are most often used and most beneficial when their goal is to reduce loneliness. Part 2 will consist of a between-subjects experiment with four conditions. The top three characteristics obtained from Part 1 will represent the three music conditions, and the fourth condition will be a pink-noise control. Prior to the experiment, participants will self-select three pieces from each of the three music conditions. After selecting their music, they will be randomly assigned to either a music or pink-noise condition. Participants in the three music conditions will listen to the three self-selected pieces that adhere to their assigned condition. Loneliness and social connection outcomes will be assessed before and after listening using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Potential moderators will be assessed after listening, which include nostalgia, absorption in music, and music reward. The results of this project will clarify whether psychological benefits of decreased loneliness and increased social connectedness can be found through music listening to enhance well-being, and whether singing along provides additional benefits. These findings may also be useful in developing future music-based interventions for reducing loneliness.

Interventions

• Behavioral Music condition 1: Nostalgic music
  First type of music that participants could be assigned to listen to. Participants will listen to three pieces of self-selected music that correspond to their assigned music condition.
• Behavioral Music condition 2: Comforting music
  Second type of music that participants could be assigned to listen to. Participants will listen to three pieces of self-selected music that correspond to their assigned music condition.
• Behavioral Control condition (pink-noise)
  Participants will listen to pink-noise sound for approximately 15 minutes.
• Behavioral Music condition 3: Distracting music
  Third type of music that participants could be assigned to listen to. Participants will listen to three pieces of self-selected music that correspond to their assigned music condition.

Primary outcome measures

• Change from Baseline in Loneliness Score After Music Listening [Time frame: Measured immediately before and immediately after music listening]
• Change from Baseline in Social Connectedness Score After Music Listening [Time frame: Measured immediately before and immediately after music listening]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

• Over the age of 70
• Access to internet

Exclusion criteria

• Cognitive Impairment
• Self-reported hearing loss

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: No

Study design

Allocation

Randomized

Model

Parallel assignment

Masking

Open label

Primary purpose

Treatment

Study locations

Canada · 1 center

• Toronto Metropolitan University — Toronto

Publications

• Zhou X, Sedikides C, Wildschut T, Gao DG. Counteracting loneliness: on the restorative function of nostalgia. Psychol Sci. 2008 Oct;19(10):1023-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02194.x. PMID 19000213
• Tarr B, Launay J, Dunbar RI. Music and social bonding: "self-other" merging and neurohormonal mechanisms. Front Psychol. 2014 Sep 30;5:1096. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01096. eCollection 2014. PMID 25324805
• Statistics Canada. (2025, February). Table 45-10-0049-01 Loneliness by gender and other selected sociodemographic characteristics. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25318/4510004901-eng
• Schäfer, K., Saarikallio, S., & Eerola, T. (2020). Music may reduce loneliness and act as social surrogate for a friend: Evidence from and experimental listening study. Music & Science, 3, 1-16.
• Saeri AK, Cruwys T, Barlow FK, Stronge S, Sibley CG. Social connectedness improves public mental health: Investigating bidirectional relationships in the New Zealand attitudes and values survey. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2018 Apr;52(4):365-374. doi: 10.1177/0004867417723990. Epub 2017 Aug 12. PMID 28803484
• Randall, W. M., Baltazar, M., & Saarikallio, S. (2022). Success in reaching affect self-regulation goals through everyday music listening. Journal of New Music Research, 51(2-3), 243-258. https://doi.org/10.1080/09298215.2023.2187310
• Kurt, D., & Alpar, S. E. (2021). The effect of music therapy on the sense of loneliness of elderly living in nursing home. International Journal of Caring Sciences, 14(2), 930-936.
• Klil-Drori S, Bodenstein KC, Sun S, Kojok L, Gruber J, Ghantous Y, Cummings J, Nasreddine Z. Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) XpressO: Validation of a digital self-administered cognitive prescreening tool. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2024 Aug;72(8):2516-2522. doi: 10.1111/jgs.18902. Epub 2024 Apr 1. PMID 38558263

Identifiers

NCT: NCT07494604 · 021SL Music & Loneliness

Primary sources (government registries)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (US NIH)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗