Updates from the Western Pacific Region!

Greetings to all, near and far! I am delighted to share with you a recent study on the use of music therapy for “home-parked” children in China.

Since the beginning of China’s economic reformations in 1978, China has attained much economic stability and growth. And as a result, boosts in urbanisation has led a large number of young adults to migrate from the rural areas to the cities to seek employment opportunities. Restricted by household registration systems and individual economic conditions, the vast majority of rural-tourban migrant-workers are unable to settle down in cities. Consequently, their children needed to remain at home in the rural areas. Left in the care of grandparents or close relatives, these children became “left-behind” children. According to the research report about Chinese left-behind children in rural areas in 2014 released by the All-China Women’s Federation (ACWF), the number of Chinese left-behind children in the rural areas in 2010 was 61,025,500, 37.7% of which were rural children and 21.88% were national children. This data meant that about 10 million children were not able to see their parents throughout the year, and about 4.3% of these left-behind children were not even able communicate with their parents over the phone during that time.
Research and various literature sources have indicated the following as common psychological and behavioural problems of left-behind children:

1. Self-awareness: They have a strong sense of inferiority, undervaluing their intelligence and appearance.
2. Emotional condition: Their emotions tend to be unstable and can become the cause of other issues, such as various somatic symptoms, terror, hostility, stubbornness, aggression and over sensitivity in interpersonal relationships.
3. Stress management: They tend to perceive setbacks as a result of external factors, and they are more likely to use inappropriate ways to manage stresses i.e. avoidance.
4. Parent-child relationship: The majority of them resent their parents and display blind rebellion.
5. Interpersonal relationships: A large number of them are introverted, easily bullied or attacked.
6. Academics: The majority of them have ineffective learning habits and are unmotivated to learn.
   Slipping grades create further disinterest in studying which result in high dropout rates.
7. Social adaptation: They are more likely to violate rules and laws. They are more vulnerable to developing habits such as smoking, drinking, gambling, and committing crimes such as robbery.

To investigate the benefits and effectiveness of music therapy in the improvement and alleviation of the above psychological and behavioural problems of left-behind children, Professor Sun Lijuan of Academic of Arts from Chongqing University designed and conducted a study that provided leftbehind children with music therapy for an hour each week. The music therapy program, “Heart-Happiness Lesson”, provided psychological support and emotional relief for these left-behind children. More specifically, it offered these children opportunities to develop mutually supportive and empathic peer relationships, positive self image and awareness, and opportunities to find love around them. Through discussing and singing songs, as well as playing musical games and instruments, the children’s understanding for their parents and consciousness of social interaction improved. The purpose of these activities was to help them develop an accurate and heightened sense of self-awareness for the development of sound and healthy personalities. After a year of running this program, changes in their family support, peer support and other support systems were
evaluated. Whilst the authenticity of the children’s observed behaviours may have been slightly compromised due to the presence of school teachers at every session, results of this study still indicated significant improvements in the children’s psychological and emotional well being, as well as their understanding for social support.
This program demonstrated that music therapy can effectively address a range of psychological, emotional and behavioural needs in these left-behind children. Through engaging in various musical activities and interventions, a safe environment was created where defences were let down and communicative bridges between these children were developed. Subsequently, improvements in mood and emotions were also seen in these children.

For more information on music therapy in China, I invite you to check out the facts sheet page under the regional liaison section.
If you have updates and news on the development of music therapy in your country within this region, and would like to share them with us, please do not hesitate to contact me for possible mention in future blogs at westernpacific@wfmt.info.

Cheers!
Vivian Chan, MMT, MTA, MT-BC
WFMT Regional Liaison, Western Pacific Region