THE SOUNDS OF COPING: LISTENING TO MUSIC AS A COPING
MECHANISM FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS
Open Access
Author:
Thompson, Samuel Harvey
Area of Honors:
Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Deborah Lee Kerstetter, Thesis Supervisor Deborah Lee Kerstetter, Thesis Honors Advisor Careen M. Yarnal, Faculty Reader Deborah Lee Kerstetter, Thesis Supervisor
Keywords:
music coping leisure
Abstract:
The stress experienced by college students and their means of coping with stress were examined through verbal descriptions of daily college stressors and accompanying coping mechanisms. The goal was to reveal the leisure activity of listening to music as a dominant coping mechanism used by college students. To calm themselves down from the stress of schoolwork, exams, and relationships, students cited listening to music as a coping mechanism more than any other activity. Listening to music by college students was also examined more closely on the basis of reasoning, genre preference, situational variance, and resulting feelings. The findings shed light on college student’s perceptions and experiences with stress, in addition to the coping capabilities of listening to music. The findings also serve to enhance the literature on leisure coping, music, and other related topics.
