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This research was carried out to evaluate the mental state perceptions of Vocational School
students, to conduct a screening of psychological symptoms by revealing the current mental
states of the students, and to determine how their music preferences affect their mental state.
The universe of the descriptive cross-sectional research consists of students studying at Tokat
Gaziosmanpaşa University Pazar Vocational School in the fall semester of 2016-2017. Sample
calculations were not made, but the study was carried out with the participation of 198 students
who agreed to participate in the research (80.2% of the achievement rate). A questionnaire
containing questions about the socio-demographic characteristics and music preferences of
the students and the Psychological Symptom Screening Scale (SCL 90-R) were used as data
collection tools. Ethics committee permission was obtained from Erciyes University Non-Clinical
Research Ethics Committee and institutional permission from TOGU University Pazar Vocational
School to conduct the study.
73.7% of the students participating in the study were female and 26.3% were male, with a
mean age of 19.7±2.2 years. The rate of students with mental problems is 57.1%. Obsessive-compulsive,
paranoid thoughts and interpersonal sensitivity disorders were found in the first
three ranks among the subgroups with mental problems according to the GSI mean score of the
participants. There is a statistically significant relationship between gender, place of residence
and economic status and some SCL-90 subgroup scores. It has been determined that pop music,
arabesque and folk music are in the first three places among the music that the students listen
to. There is a statistically significant relationship between students’ liking to listen to music and
somatization and anxiety subgroups. There was a statistically significant correlation between
the frequency of listening to music and the phobic anxiety subgroup (p<0.05). Those who listen
to heavy rhythm music have more somatization than those who listen to tempo music, with a
subgroup score higher than 1 at the statistical significance level (p<0.05).
According to the psychological symptom screening results of Vocational School students, the
rate of mental problems is quite high. It has been determined that some socio-demographic
characteristics and music preferences affect their mental states. Based on this, it is
recommended that our country’s universities should regularly carry out psychological symptom
screening studies and create interdisciplinary studies and action plans by taking advantage of
the positive effects of their music.