The Relationship between Musical Preferences and Emotional Regulation in Emerging Adulthood in Jakarta

Abstract

Music can express, induce, change, strengthen, or mitigate emotions in an individual. However, several genres of music around the world are being utilized as psychotherapeutic devices with various resulting impact depending on the music preferences. A number of studies have shown that many people often use music as an emotional regulation strategy. These people include emerging adults in Jakarta. They are experiencing period of transition from adolescence to adulthood. They are challenged to handle stress and to avoid psychological problems. The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between preferences for certain music genres and emotional regulation (particularly strategies for reducing negative emotions and improving positive emotions) among emerging adulthood in Jakarta. This study involved 458 emerging adults in Jakarta using convenience sampling technique. The result shows that the preference for certain music genres has a statistically significant correlation with emotional regulation. Preferences for blues and rock music genres were positively associated with the use of music to reduce negative emotions and improve positive emotions. Preference for heavy metal music was only positively associated with improving positive emotion, and the intense and rebellious music preference dimension was positively associated with the use of music to improve positive emotion. These results are also considered to be central to the potential use of music as a medium of emotional regulation strategies among emerging adults in Jakarta.