Musical Engagement is Adaptive Following Early Life Unpredictability

Early adversity generates disparities in mental health and wellbeing. Understanding scalable factors that promote resilience is critical to supporting individuals following adversity. One avenue to resiliency may be through music listening, which involves affective and reward-related processes targeted by early adversity. Little is known about how early adversity affects musical engagement and its relation to adult resilience. Across two studies (Study 1: n=254; ages 18-65; Study 2: n=288; ages 18-55) we examined effects of exposure to dimensions of early adversity (unpredictability, threat, deprivation) on musical engagement and resiliency in adulthood. Individuals exposed to early unpredictability showed increased emotional absorption into music. Increased absorption mediated associations between early unpredictability and adult resilience. Absorption was associated with escapism, specifically adaptive motivations to seek positive affect, offering a mechanism for music’s adaptive effects. These findings posit musical absorption as an accessible tool for resilience, especially following early life unpredictability.