MUSICAL ABILITY AS AN ALLY IN REDUCING PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS IN SCHOOL-AGE STUDENTS

Student mental health and well-being have gained increasing relevance in the educational field in recent years.In this context, psychological distress-understood as the combination of anxiety, depression, and stress-represents a significant risk factor for student well-being, prompting the search for strategies to mitigate its impact.Various studies suggest that music can positively influence emotional regulation and stress reduction; however, the specific role of musical ability in these processes remains to be further explored.This study examines the relationship between musical ability and psychological distress.The sample included 1,496 students from 6th grade of primary education to the 2nd year of high school across five educational institutions in Spain.The average age was 13.68 years (SD = 2.03), with a balanced gender distribution (51.3% female).The study employed a musical ability test and the General Distress Scale (DASS-21).The preliminary results show that students with higher musical ability reported lower levels of depression (r = -0.123),anxiety (r = -0.115),and stress (r = -.077).Statistically significant differences were found between timbre perception and depression (r = -0.124),anxiety (r = -0.121),and stress (r = -0.082).Additionally, a negative relationship was observed between pitch perception and both depression (r = -0.063)and anxiety (r = -0.058);as well as between melody perception and depression (r = -0.053).These findings suggest that musical ability may act as a protective factor against students' psychological distress.This underscores the importance of integrating music education not only as a pedagogical tool, but also as a fundamental resource for facilitating the management of psychological distress in the school environment.