Musical Training to Enhance Resilience in Children From Low-income Families

Musical Training Programme to Enhance Resilience and Self-esteem Among School-aged Children From Low-income Families: A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial

Child poverty is a prominent global health issue owing to its detrimental impact on a child's physical and psychosocial well-being. Nearly 356 million children lived in extreme poverty globally before the pandemic and this is estimated to worsen significantly. children growing up in poverty are more vulnerable to its effect and have an increased risk of psychosocial and developmental problems than children from affluent families. The impact of poverty is not only immediate during childhood but can persist into adulthood. Previous studies have shown that Chinese children from low-income families reported significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms, lower levels of self-esteem, quality of life, and life satisfaction than children from affluent families.

Recent studies have revealed the promising effects of musical training to promote psychological well-being among children and adolescents and paediatric brain tumour survivors, improving psychosocial skills of children with autism, to enhance the quality of life and psychological health by promoting positive emotions and cognitive and social development.

Promoting the psychological health of school-aged children from low-income families through enhancing their resilience has received limited research attention. Additionally, there is a lack of intervention studies to promote resilience in school-aged children from low-income families. This proposed research, therefore, aims to conduct a pilot randomised controlled trial to determine the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effects of a musical training programme in enhancing resilience and self-esteem, reducing depressive symptoms and improving the quality of life among children from low-income families.

The findings from the study could inform the policymakers and healthcare professionals in health services design and the importance of advocating the psychological needs of children from low-income families by providing adequate community resources and support. If the programme demonstrates its effectiveness in promoting resilience and self-esteem among children from low-income families, further implementation could be done to maintain its sustainability in the community. Most importantly, the programme may potentially enhance the resilience of the vulnerable children from low-income families to combat poverty and hence break the intergenerational transmission of poverty.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Chinese children aged between 8-12 years
• able to read Chinese and communicate in Cantonese
• from low-income families, that is, less than half the median monthly household income or recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance

Exclusion Criteria:

• children who are currently receiving or had received musical training before the study
• children have chronic diseases, cognitive and learning difficulties