Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Overcrowding in correctional institutions increases inmates' psychological pressure, so emotion regulation becomes an important skill for adapting to prison life. Surabaya Class I Correctional Institution, which operates 54% over capacity, plays instrumental music in all housing blocks, yet the effect of this program on inmates' emotion regulation has never been scientifically evaluated. This study aimed to determine the effect of instrumental music on emotion regulation among inmates at this institution. A quantitative, causal-associative approach with a cross-sectional design was used. The sample consisted of 105 male inmates selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using the Brief Music in Mood Regulation Scale (B-MMRS) to measure the use of instrumental music and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) to measure emotion regulation, and were analyzed using simple linear regression in jamovi. The results showed a very strong positive correlation (r = 0.891; p < 0.001) and a significant positive effect of instrumental music on emotion regulation (B = 0.922; p < 0.001), explaining 79.5% of the variance in emotion regulation (R² = 0.795). Thus, the alternative hypothesis was accepted: the greater the use of instrumental music, the higher inmates' emotion regulation scores. However, the normality and homoscedasticity assumptions were not met and the design was observational, so the findings indicate a statistical effect and cannot establish causality.
Language: English
Topic: Music Therapy and Health
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7224225855