Music and well-being in carceral settings: a scoping review

Figures & data

Table 1. Defining areas of interest, search domains and search terms.

Areas of Interest	Search Domains	Search Terms
Musical Practices	Forms of Musical Practice	music OR singing OR instruments OR opera OR choir OR songwriting OR blues OR hip-hop OR rap OR classical music OR pop*
Individual and Sociopolitical Impacts of Musical Practices	Social, Cognitive, Behavioral, and Emotional Impacts	mental health OR well-being OR well-being OR stress OR depression OR substance use OR anxiety OR suicide OR trauma OR addiction OR music therapy OR therapy
Carceral Settings	Types of Carceral Settings	prison OR incarceration OR jail OR detention OR immigration OR detention center OR detention facility

Table 2. Musical practices and psychological outcomes

Author (Year)	Type of Paper	Outcome Variables	Sample
Atherton et al. (2022)	Intervention	Increased levels of hope, sociality, pro-social identities	Undisclosed
Bensimon et al. (2015)	Intervention	Decreased levels of anxiety and anger	n = 48, male adults
Chen et al. (2016)	Intervention	Decreased levels of depression and increased self-esteem, social functioning	n = 200, men
Chen and Hannibal (2019)	Intervention	Decreased defensiveness, anxiety, and depression; increased sociality, capacity to share emotions, self-esteem	n = 1, male
Cohen (2009a, b)	Intervention	Increased levels of sociality and well-being	Experiment 1, n = 20, men; Experiment 2, n = 48, men; Control Groups for Experiment 1 and 2, n = 10, men
Cohen and Wilson (2017)	Intervention	Increased coping skills, sense of identity, internal locus of control, fulfillment, sociality	n = 17, males
Daveson and Edwards (2001)	Intervention	Decreased stress; increased relaxation, self-expression	n = 7, Caucasian women
Quadros (2015)	Intervention	Increased vulnerability, mutual respect, tenderness, hope	Two separate groups; Group 1, n = 20, all men; Group 2, n=undisclosed, all women
Gold et al. (2014)	Intervention	Suggests decreased levels of anxiety	n = 113, males
Ierardi and Nicole (2012)	Intervention	Increased sense of validation, hope, social skills	Youth in a short-term juvenile detention center, ages 10–21; male and female units; full sample not disclosed
Lenette et al. (2016)	Conceptual	Increased belonging, community, resiliency, agency	Male and female asylum seekers
Macfarlane et al. (2019)	Intervention	Decreased arousal symptoms, increased selective and sustained attention levels	n = 13, males
Richards et al. (2019)	Intervention	Increased connection, ability to cope with incarceration	n = 10, 5 males and 5 females; recruited through the Missouri County Justice Center
Rodrigues et al. (2010)	Conceptual	Increased self-confidence, sociality, quality of interactions between mothers and infants; decreased stress	Specific sample size not disclosed; comprised of mothers and babies.
Roma (2010)	Intervention	Increased spiritual and emotional development, cooperation, connections to communities outside of prison	Incarcerated men, specific sample size not disclosed.
Segall (2017)	Intervention	Decreased levels of stress; increased levels of executive functioning	Experimental group, n = 20; Control group, n = 20; all males
Thaut (1987)	Intervention	Decreased hostility; increased constructive social interactions in groups, self-esteem	n = 119, male patients
Thompson (2022)	Intervention	Increased prosocial skills, frustration tolerance, perseverance	n = 8, 13 to 17 years old
Uhler (2020)	Intervention	Increased satisfaction, time management, communication skills, and empathy	n = 8, aged 13 to 17, male and females
Weston and Lenette (2016)	Conceptual	Increased self-expression, community, connectedness	n = 6 per session, identifying information unavailable
Wilson et al. (2009)	Conceptual	Increased trust between staff and prisoners, communication skills, achievement, empowerment; decreased sense of boredom	Facility 1, adult males; Facility 2, psychiatric prison with undisclosed sample

Table 3. Musical practices and identity formation.

Author (Year)	Type of Paper	Outcome Variables	Sample
Abrahams et al. (2012)	Intervention	Increased self-expression, insights into self, sense of hope	Incarcerated men, sample otherwise undisclosed
Anderson (2012)	Intervention	Increased engagement in education, self-esteem, self-reflection	Incarcerated men
Anderson and Overy (2010)	Intervention	Increased participation in education, self-esteem, sense of meaning	n = 14; males, ages 17–21
Baker and Homan (2007)	Intervention	Increased sense of peace, self-esteem, organizational skills, self-expression, awareness of identity	Not explicitly stated; primarily Black male youth
Bamarki (2016)	Conceptual	Music to denounce colonial ideologies, revitalize Aboriginal values	Aboriginal women in Canada
Barrett and Baker (2012)	Intervention	Encouraged “re-definition of self”; increased sense of community, self-esteem, future-oriented resilience; embodiment of identity as a community member and musician	n = 22, Australian Aboriginal teenage males (ages 14–18)
Bramwell (2018)	Intervention	Increased ability to explicate experiences in the criminal justice system, peace between Black prisoners and prison staff, ability to negotiate identities, sense of freedom	n = 110; 45% were Black or mixed-race, 20% Asian, 30% White; men
Caulfield et al. (2016)	Intervention	Increased positive social identities, self-esteem, collective identity, engagement in educational programming	n = 18; male offenders, presently incarcerated and “ex-offenders”
Cohen (2000)	Conceptual	“Interactional choral singing pedagogy,” “choral musicking” and “desirable social behaviors” and “growth”	N/A
Cohen (2009b)	Conceptual	Increased self-esteem, sense of trust, sense of accomplishment; influences perceptions of self by others, sociality	Prison choir conductors’ perspectives (n = 9); 6 Kansas prison choir; male and female choirs
Dickie-Johnson and Meek (2020)	Intervention	Increased knowledge of self, drive to change perceptions of self, sense of community, self-esteem, resilience to deconstructive effects of incarceration; music as an “escape.”	Organization 1. n = 6 participants, male; organization 2, n = 5 and n = 8, undisclosed
Henley (2015)	Intervention	Development of “positive” identities, social capital and individual agency	Project 1, non-incarcerated children and youth; Project 2, male and female offenders, otherwise undisclosed
Henley et al. (2012)	Intervention	Increased awareness of self, self-expression, self-esteem, communication skills, coping skills, anger management, feelings of “being normal”	n = 15–20 per session, men and women
Hjørnevik (2022)	Intervention	“Therapeutic music scene,” negotiation of identity and belonging; facilitation of “noncoercive forms of personal development”	n = 34 incarcerated participants, n = 5 prison staff
Hjørnevik et al. (2022)	Intervention	Use of music to maintain coherent sense of self, as vehicle for noncoercive personal development	Undisclosed
Hjørnevik and Waage (2019)	Intervention	Increased empathy, empowerment, and self-esteem; facilitated “musical emotion zones” which fostered forms of “musical caring” and caring identities, sociality	Male offenders; interviews, n = 11
Kyprianides and Easterbrook (2020)	Intervention	Decreased symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress; dissolution of rivalries between prisoners; increased sense of purpose, social engagement	n = 104, otherwise undisclosed (study 1); n = 15, men and women (study 2)
Menning (2010)	Conceptual	Proposes adaptation of NZ prison choral program to Maori cultural values and practices	N/A
Robertson (2017)	Conceptual	Increased sociality, assertion of bicultural affiliations, contestation of enforced identities	Nisei in internment camps, men and women
Silber (2005)	Intervention	Increased capacity to embody new identities, form “alternative communities,” sociality	n = 7; incarcerated women
Tett et al. (2012)	Intervention	Increased positive feelings to learning, collaboration, sense of responsibility, self-esteem; facilitated exploration of self and identity, active learning culture	n = 25, male
Wilson (2014)	Intervention	Increased expression of personal identity, sense of self-actualization, sense of control, ability to process difficult emotions, increased sense of hope	n = 17, incarcerated men

Table 4. Musical practices and power.

Author (Year)	Type of Paper	Outcome Variables	Sample
Barak and Stebbins (2017)	Conceptual	Potential exacerbation of alienation and marginalization	n = 21, male prisoners
Cusick (2008)	Conceptual	“Breaking” and torture of detainees at Guantánamo, “loud music.”	N/A
Edri and Bensimon (2019)	Conceptual	How prisoners and staff are exposed to music; music as “escape,” music as a source of solidarity and suspicion	n = 19, undisclosed
Elsila (1995)	Conceptual	Music as “escape,” managing stress, music as resistance	Incarcerated men
Harbert (2011)	Conceptual	Use of “musical strategies” to “escape,” facilitate “community building,” “[maintain] musical careers that span pre-convict and post-convict selves”	Multi-sited ethnography at three correctional facilities, adult male and female prisoners
Harbert (2013)	Conceptual	Increased coping skills, sense of meaning; increased opportunities for conflict and anxiety	Incarcerated women
Hemsworth (2016)	Conceptual	How sound orients and disorients, connects and disconnects; sound as a tool of resistance to reclaim dignity	Not explicitly stated, based on interviews and written accounts
Lucas (2013)	Conceptual	Critiques redemptive framing of arts in carceral settings, how art monitors behavior and increases stigmatization	Incarcerated women
Mendonça (2010)	Conceptual	Increased sociality, agency, ability to cope, participation in educational programming	Male prisoners
Rice (2016)	Conceptual	Increased agency, ability to shape “sonic spaces”; “acoustical agency” as source of tension between prisoners	Incarcerated men and women, written accounts
Tuastad and O’Grady (2013)	Conceptual	“Escaping reality” and “entering reality” (i.e. building ties to the world outside prison)	Not explicitly stated; varied, across two separate theses
Waller (2018)	Conceptual	Objectification of carceral subjects; amenability of carceral subjects to discipline and regulation	N/A

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