Effects of community-based group music therapy for children exposed to ongoing child maltreatment & poverty in South Korea: A block randomized controlled trial

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Community-Based Group Music Therapy on internalizing behavioral problems in children who were exposed to ongoing child maltreatment and poverty in South Korea. It was a block randomized controlled trial with a two-arm parallel group design, comparing group music therapy (n=14) to standard care (n=12). The children in the music therapy group received 12 consecutive group music therapy sessions once a week whereas the children in standard care had care-as-usual (aged seven to 12). The internalizing behavioral problems of the Child Behavior Checklist, both teacher and child reports were used to measure behavioral changes over time in both groups at baseline, pre and post interventions. Results were collected and analyzed using repeated measures ANCOVA.