Research Shorts: Young Men, Music and Mental Health

This week I met Alex Theophilus to talk about his doctoral project entitled ‘Young men and their use of music in coastal areas: The motivators for engagement and effects on wellbeing’.

Alex explained the focus of his research:

‘This research project emphasises the role that music plays in the lives of young men and how it impacts their mental wellbeing. For example, the study points to the importance of the social and emotional impact of music making and listening. The investigation further highlights the role of music engagement in the formation of young men’s identities and the importance of good community music-making spaces.’

In November 2024-January 2025, Alex conducted eight in-person semi-structured interviews with young men connected with music-making projects in the coastal region of Cornwall, an example of a coastal region. Participants were recruited through a range of purposive sampling, with them being selected due to their broad interest in music. The interviews were analysed through Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, an in-depth form of analysis that concentrates on participants’ lived reality and experiences, with the researcher interpreting these experiences as described by the participants.

I asked Alex about the potential impact of his findings: ‘This research will be important for educators, hubs and services, and community music partnerships working with young men, who are a forgotten group in terms of their specific wellbeing needs. More broadly, it will be important for creating future policy and interventions focused on the promotion of music for wellbeing, for young people from disadvantaged areas.’

Since September 2023, Alex has been a full-time London and Humanities Partnership-funded PhD student at the Royal College of Music in London, at the Centre for Performance Science. He is now working through a second study for his PhD, a survey study, with the intention of completing the data collection by Christmas 2025. Before beginning his PhD, Alex had a background in public policy, primarily in the Civil Service, as well as working previously in both private, further and higher education institutions, in both teaching and support roles.

Find out more:

• Follow Alex’s progress on LinkedIn or his research profile.
• Listen to the podcast featuring Alex here, coming 30th October

Written by Kerry Bunkhall, Research & Data Manager for Music Mark.