SynthesisTrends in psychiatry and psychotherapy2025
Outcomes of music therapy on children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Trends in psychiatry and psychotherapy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Neurophysiological and biological effects of music-based interventions in ADHD: a mini review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Review
- A narrative review on the psychological mechanisms and efficacy of music interventions for improving symptoms of patients with ADHD.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Review
- The role of embodied musical engagement in enhancing non-cognitive skills and rehabilitation outcomes in children with special needs.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- How Familiarity, Musical Affinity, and ADHD Shape Adolescents' Perception of Musical Emotions.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveAttention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects approximately 7% of children and 5% of adolescents worldwide. ADHD is characterized by inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity as symptoms. The exact mechanism underlying this disorder is still unclear, but genetic and environmental factors play important roles. In recent years, research and treatment options have increased, including medication and/or therapeutic interventions such as music therapy. There is evidence showing benefits of music therapy on mental health, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, results regarding ADHD are limited. The aim of this meta-analysis was to verify whether music therapy is an effective tool for improving symptoms in children and adolescents with ADHD.
methodsIn accordance with PRISMA guidelines, we systematically searched the Virtual Health Library, SciELO, PubMed and Cochrane Library databases. This article included original research that investigated the effect of music therapy on hyperactive and impulsive symptoms in children and adolescents with ADHD.
resultsMusic therapy was associated with a trend of efficacy involving ADHD symptoms (effect size: 1.18; CI: -3.8 - 0.21; p = 0.08). Additionally, a significant amount of heterogeneity among trials was found (I2 = 92 %). The lack of studies involving music therapy, ADHD and brain imaging, as well as limited investigation of inattention symptoms in studied articles are limitations of this article.
conclusionMusic therapy is an important therapeutic tool for ADHD. Therefore, future research should include more robust samples and measurement scales, follow-up after experiments and further exploration of the potential connections among ADHD, music therapy, neuroimaging and neuroscientific fields.
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