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IntroductionMethodsResultsDiscussionGuidelines for developing complex interventions include implementing strategies to monitor intervention delivery. These can include tracking therapist behaviors, which are connected to therapist effectiveness. In this project, we examine a music therapist’s (MT) behaviors during the implementation of the Musical Contour Regulation Facilitation (MCRF) intervention, a complex music-based intervention to support emotion regulation development in preschoolers.This was a retrospective analysis of videotaped footage from four weeks of MCRF sessions facilitated from May through July 2014. From a representative sample of 30% of sessions (n = 12), we randomly selected one per week for analysis. Three research assistants independently coded the videos, tracking the frequency of verbal, nonverbal, and musical behaviors in 15-second intervals (interrater agreement = 80.6%). We conducted descriptive analyses on observed therapist behavior overall and during different intervention components.Results showed the MT exhibited an average of 365.0 behaviors per 11-minute session, grouped into five verbal, four nonverbal, and seven musical behaviors. We noted differences in behaviors demonstrated between intervention components and within-session transitions, including differences in the type of behavior and the number of behaviors presented.Findings suggest differences in the frequency and type of verbal, nonverbal, and musical behaviors demonstrated by the MT that reflected specific intervention components. Future MCRF intervention research should include monitoring of therapist behaviors to help determine behaviors necessary for fidelity of effective implementation and those that will aid in intervention scalability and translation to clinical practice between different therapists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that low socioeconomic status (SES) home environments may play a role by promoting excess energy intake through a lack of access to non-food reinforcers. Because of the deleterious effects of SES-related disparities on child health and development, feasible and culturally acceptable interventions are urgently needed. Community-based music enrichment programs may be an ideal intervention strategy. Methods: In collaboration with a local non-profit organization and music studio, we conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial to assess the effects of a music enrichment program versus a play date control in a group of 9–24-month-old healthy infants (N = 16). The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Children's Mercy Hospital Kansas City. This study is registered with clinicaltrials.gov (NCT05868811). Results: Overall, we found some intervention effects on the relative reinforcing value of food (RRVfood) and the home environmental enrichment measures (i.e., increased music use at home and the home language environment). Our intervention demonstrated large effects on the increased use of music at home. We did not find significant group differences in the RRVfood and home language environment, but some of the effect sizes were medium-to-large. Results also suggest that our intervention is feasible and acceptable. Parent feedback indicated that the intervention was well-liked and that the steps we took to help reduce barriers worked. Conclusions: Music enrichment programs may be a high-impact, low-cost strategy to address socioeconomic disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recent research has shown beneficial results for music-based interventions (MBIs) for persons living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD), but reports often lack sufficient detail about the MBI methodology, which reduces replicability. A detailed checklist for best practices in how to report MBIs was created in 2011 by Robb and colleagues to remedy the lack of detail in MBI descriptions. The implementation of the checklist specifically in AD/ADRD research has not been established. Given the complexity of music and the variety of uses for research and health, specific MBI descriptions are necessary for rigorous replication and validation of study results. Objective: This systematic mapping review utilized the "Checklist for Reporting Music-Based Interventions" to evaluate the current state of MBI descriptive specificity in AD/ADRD research. Methods: Research articles testing MBIs and reviews of MBI efficacy published between January 2015 and August 2023 were scored using the checklist and the results were summarized. Results: Forty-eight studies were screened, and reporting was inconsistent across the 11 checklist criteria. Ten out of 48 studies fully reported more than 5 of the 11 criteria. Only one of the 11 scoring criteria was at least partially reported across 47 of 48 studies. Conclusions: Thorough reporting of intervention detail for MBIs remains limited in AD/ADRD MBI research. This impedes study validation, replication, and slows the progress of research and potential application of music in practice. Greater implementation of the reporting guidelines provided by Robb and colleagues would move the field of MBI research for AD/ADRD forward more quickly and efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The early language environment, especially high‐quality, contingent parent–child language interactions, is crucial for a child's language development and later academic success. In this secondary analysis study, 89 parent–child dyads were randomly assigned to either the Music Together® (music) or play date (control) classes. Children were 9‐ to 15‐month old at baseline, primarily white (86.7%) and female (52%). Measures of conversational turns (CTs) and parental verbal quality were coded from parent–child free play episodes at baseline, mid‐intervention (month 6), and post‐intervention (month 12). Results show that participants in the music group had a significantly greater increase in CT measures and quality of parent verbalization post‐intervention. Music enrichment programs may be a strategy to enhance parent–child language interactions during early childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotion regulation (ER) describes the goal-directed ability to manage and shape the dynamics and timing of one's emotional experiences and expressions, an ability that develops early in life. Though development of maladaptive ER skills can significantly impact developmental outcomes, interventions for at-risk children are limited. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine feasibility and preliminary efficacy of the Musical Contour Regulation Facilitation (MCRF) intervention, a multi-session strategy for promoting ER development in preschoolers, with a focus on typically developing preschoolers as a preliminary exploration of a novel intervention. Eight typically developing children (M = 3.88 years) participated in the 11-session MCRF intervention across four weeks. ER-related behaviors were assessed pre- and post-intervention, and teacher interviews were conducted post-intervention. Teachers noted positive change in children's behavior following the intervention in terms of their emotion skills and peer interactions. Furthermore, they believed in the importance of music for developmental outcomes. Large and medium effects sizes in ER-related abilities were noted, and acceptability and integration of the intervention into the regular daycare environment was supported by interview data. Findings support further refinement and examination of the MCRF intervention in children who are at risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotion regulation (ER) is an umbrella term to describe interactive, goal-dependent explicit, and implicit processes that are intended to help an individual manage and shift an emotional experience. The primary window for appropriate ER development occurs during the infant, toddler, and preschool years. Atypical ER development is considered a risk factor for mental health problems and has been implicated as a primary mechanism underlying childhood pathologies. Current treatments are predominantly verbal- and behavioral-based and lack the opportunity to practice in-the-moment management of emotionally charged situations. There is also an absence of caregiver-child interaction in these treatment strategies. Based on behavioral and neural support for music as a therapeutic mechanism, the incorporation of intentional music experiences, facilitated by a music therapist, may be one way to address these limitations. Musical Contour Regulation Facilitation (MCRF) is an interactive therapist-child music-based intervention for ER development practice in preschoolers. The MCRF intervention uses the deliberate contour and temporal structure of a music therapy session to mirror the changing flow of the caregiver-child interaction through the alternation of high arousal and low arousal music experiences. The purpose of this paper is to describe the Therapeutic Function of Music (TFM), a theory-based description of the structural characteristics for a musicbased stimulus to musically facilitate developmentally appropriate high arousal and low arousal in-the-moment ER experiences. The TFM analysis is based on a review of the music theory, music neuroscience, and music development literature and provides a preliminary model of the structural characteristics of the music as a core component of the MCRF intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Music is a complex intervention strategy; thus, the characteristics of the music are important to therapeutic outcomes. Greater clarity for the role of the musical elements in therapeutic outcomes is desired, yet few strategic methods support the description of the musical elements in the development of treatment interventions. This paper proposes an ante-hoc worksheet to articulate the Therapeutic Function of Music (TFM) Plan. This worksheet helps the music therapist organize the relationship between the treatment goal, theoretical framework, and musical elements in order to define the purpose and intent of each musical element. The result is a theory-based synthesis of the music as a whole for therapeutic intervention. The TFM Plan will benefit music therapy with stronger explanations of the therapeutic effect of music, generate consistent application of music characteristics for therapeutic response, support predictable outcomes, and foster a specialized understanding of music as a therapeutic medium differentiated from other professionals using music-based interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Music therapists are challenged to present evidence on the efficacy of music therapy treatment and incorporate the best available research evidence to make informed healthcare and treatment decisions. Higher standards of evidence can come from a variety of sources including systematic reviews. Objective: To define and describe a range of research review methods using examples from music therapy and related literature, with emphasis on the systematic review. In addition, the authors provide a detailed overview of methodological processes for conducting and reporting systematic reviews in music therapy. Methods: The systematic review process is described in five steps. Step 1 identifies the research plan and operationalized research question(s). Step 2 illustrates the identification and organization of the existing literature related to the question(s). Step 3 details coding of data extracted from the literature. Step 4 explains the synthesis of coded findings and analysis to answer the research question(s). Step 5 describes the strength of evidence evaluation and results presentation for practice recommendations. Results: Music therapists are encouraged to develop and conduct systematic reviews. This methodology contributes to review outcome credibility and can determine how information is interpreted and used by clinicians, clients or patients, and policy makers. Conclusions: A systematic review is a methodologically rigorous research method used to organize and evaluate extant literature related to a clinical problem. Systematic reviews can assist music therapists in managing the ever-increasing literature, making well-informed evidence based practice and research decisions, and translating existing music-based and nonmusic based literature to clinical practice and research development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historical research contributes a perspective on the evolution of the music therapy profession and creates an opportunity for reflection. The development of music therapy practice and formal education in Iowa have a rich and interesting history dating before the formation of the National Association for Music Therapy (NAMT) in 1950. As part of the Iowa Lecture Series at the 2006 AMTA Mid-western Regional Conference, this paper reflects on the origins and development of music therapy practice and education in the state of Iowa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Coping theorists argue that environmental factors affect how children perceive and respond to stressful events such as cancer. However, few studies have investigated how particular interventions can change coping behaviors. The active music engagement (AME) intervention was designed to counter stressful qualities of the in-patient hospital environment by introducing three forms of environmental support., Method: The purpose of this multi-site randomized controlled trial was to determine the efficacy of the AME intervention on three coping-related behaviors (i.e. positive facial affect, active engagement, and initiation). Eighty-three participants, ages 4-7, were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: AME (n = 27), music listening (ML; n = 28), or audio storybooks (ASB; n = 28). Conditions were videotaped to facilitate behavioral data collection using time-sampling procedures., Results: After adjusting for baseline differences, repeated measure analyses indicated that AME participants had a significantly higher frequency of coping-related behaviors compared with ML or ASB. Positive facial affect and active engagement were significantly higher during AME compared with ML and ASB (p<0.0001). Initiation was significantly higher during AME than ASB (p<0.05)., Conclusion: This study supports the use of the AME intervention to encourage coping-related behaviors in hospitalized children aged 4-7 receiving cancer treatment., ((c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)