Depression and Anxiety in University Music Students

Performance anxiety among musicians and music students has been widely addressed, but far less attention has been given to examining the rates and characteristics of broader mental distress in this population. This study examined depression and anxiety in music students at one university. A considerable number of students reported symptoms indicative of anxiety or depression. Even though prevalence rates were not markedly different than those described in the literature for other university students irrespective of major, the high rate of untreated anxiety and depression among the music students is concerning. Music educators can help prepare their junior high and high school–aged students for the stressors of university music study by helping them develop coping strategies, fostering awareness of anxiety and depression as common and treatable conditions, and promoting acceptability of seeking treatment when necessary.