Do your musical tastes affect your well-being? Scientists now have an answer

People often describe music as uplifting, calming, or deeply moving, but does the type of music one prefers really say something about how well they’re doing emotionally? A new study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences examined this question using genetic data and a large twin sample. The researchers found that people who preferred pop, gospel, or Swedish dance band music tended to report slightly higher levels of well-being, while those who favored indie music reported slightly lower levels. However, these associations disappeared once shared genetic and family environmental factors were taken into account.

“Previous studies on the relationship between music and mental health have shown quite contrasting results, some reporting that music engagement promotes well-being, others linking it to more mental health problems. We wondered whether differences in genre preferences might help explain these inconsistencies,” said study author Laura Wesseldijk, a senior researcher at the Behavioral Genetics unit of the Max Planck Institute of Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt, in collaboration with the Department of Psychiatry at Amsterdam UMC.

“Beyond that, we were simply curious to see whether some genres would show stronger associations with well-being than others. Personally, I’ve always liked rock and metal music, genres often assumed to be linked with less well-being. That made me especially interested to see what our data would show.”

Some studies have suggested that listening to genres like pop or classical music might relate to higher well-being, while others have associated genres such as rock or metal with lower emotional health. But these studies often fail to account for shared genetic or environmental factors, making it difficult to determine whether the music itself has an effect, or whether people who are already doing well are simply drawn to certain types of music.

To better understand the relationship, the researchers aimed to examine not just whether music preferences relate to well-being, but whether any such relationship might be causal. They also investigated whether these associations could be explained by genetic factors. By using a large sample of adult twins, the study design allowed the researchers to distinguish between effects that stem from individual preferences and those that might arise from shared genetic or environmental backgrounds.

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Wesseldijk and her colleagues used data from 8,879 adult twins from the Swedish Twin Registry, including both identical and fraternal twin pairs. All participants completed the World Health Organization’s well-being questionnaire, which assessed how often they experienced feelings such as being calm, rested, and in control of their lives. They also rated how much they liked 19 different music styles, including pop, gospel, indie, classical, metal, jazz, country, and Swedish dance band music.

To explore whether enjoying a wide range of music styles had any effect on well-being, the researchers also created a score for musical omnivorousness. This score reflected how many genres each participant rated as highly enjoyable.

In addition to survey data, a subset of 3,764 participants also had genetic information available. This allowed the researchers to calculate a polygenic index for well-being, a measure that estimates an individual’s genetic predisposition for higher or lower well-being based on findings from previous genetic research.

The analysis began by examining direct associations between each music genre preference and well-being. The researchers controlled for factors like age, sex, and education, all of which were independently related to well-being. For example, older participants and those with more education reported slightly higher well-being, and men reported higher well-being than women on average.

Preferences for pop, gospel, and Swedish dance band music were associated with higher well-being scores, while indie music preferences were linked to lower well-being. These associations were small, but statistically significant.

To further test whether these associations might be causal, the researchers conducted a co-twin control analysis. This technique examines identical twin pairs in which one twin prefers a particular music style and the other does not. Because identical twins share both their genes and family environment, this comparison helps isolate the potential impact of individual preferences. If the music genre itself affects well-being, then the twin who enjoys that genre should report higher well-being than their co-twin who does not.

However, the co-twin analysis revealed no significant differences between twins with different music preferences. In other words, among identical twins who varied in their enjoyment of pop, gospel, indie, or Swedish dance band music, there was no consistent difference in well-being. This suggests that the earlier associations observed in the larger sample were likely due to shared genetic or environmental factors rather than a direct effect of music preference.

“The effects we found were statistically significant but extremely small in magnitude,” Wesseldijk told PsyPost. “Using the twin design, we could show that these relationships were not causal, meaning that simply changing the type of music you listen to would not meaningfully affect your well-being.”

“I expected to see more pronounced differences between genres, especially maybe for so-called musical omnivores, people who enjoy many different music styles. Still, I found it rather reassuring that there were no large differences and no causal effect of genre preferences on well-being. It suggests that people can listen to the music they enjoy without worrying about its impact on their mental health.”

The researchers also looked at genetic data to see whether people who were genetically predisposed to higher well-being were more likely to enjoy the music styles that had been linked to well-being in the initial analysis. Using polygenic indexes, they found no evidence that genetic propensity for well-being predicted preference for pop, gospel, indie, or Swedish dance band music. This suggests that while well-being and music preferences may be influenced by genetics, the overlap between the two is limited or difficult to detect with current methods.

“Overall, we found very few differences between music genre preferences and well-being,” Wesseldijk explained. “People who preferred pop, gospel, or Swedish dance band music scored slightly higher on well-being, whereas a preference for indie music related to slightly lower well-being. However, these differences were small and most likely due to familial confounding (shared genetic or family environmental factors that influence both musical taste and well-being) rather than a causal effect of the music genre preference itself.”

The study’s design provided a strong foundation for exploring the relationship between music preferences and well-being, particularly by accounting for familial factors using a twin sample. However, there are still some limitations to consider.

While the total sample was large, the number of identical twin pairs who differed in their music preferences was relatively small. This reduces the statistical power of the co-twin analysis and means that some subtle effects could have gone undetected.

Additionally, the study sample was drawn from Sweden and included mostly middle-aged adults. Cultural differences in music styles and their meanings may limit the extent to which these findings apply to other populations. For example, Swedish dance band music is a culturally specific genre that may not have the same associations elsewhere.

“It’s important to remember that correlations we observe in the general population between music preferences and well-being can exist because of overlapping genetic or family environmental factors (for example, socioeconomic background) that influence both music preference and well-being,” Wesseldijk noted. “Such overlap can create the illusion of a causal link, when in fact both are shaped by shared underlying factors (the genes or family environmental factors). That’s why twin and genetic data are so valuable: they allow us to separate these influences and better understand the true nature of these associations.”

The researchers suggest that future studies should examine other aspects of musical engagement, such as how often people listen to music, how they use it to regulate their emotions, or whether they participate in music-making. These types of engagement might be more directly related to well-being than simple genre preference. They also note that musical preferences might interact with other traits, such as personality or emotional regulation strategies, in more complex ways that were not captured by this study.

“My broader interest lies in understanding the complex relationship between music and mental health,” Wesseldijk said. “It’s fascinating because people often feel that music benefits their mental health and some studies seem to show so, yet other studies show that musicians experience more mental health problems. In our next study, we’re focusing on music listening (not specific genres) and mental health. Together, these studies aim to disentangle how different aspects of music engagement, both active and passive, relate to mental health (including well-being).”

“This study was conducted by master’s student Anastasiia Bratchenko, who is now pursuing her PhD in Estonia,” she added. “She did an excellent job on this project, and it was a real pleasure to work with her.”

The study, “Music style preferences and well-being: A genetic perspective,” was authored by Anastasiia Bratchenko, Penghao Xia, Dorret I. Boomsma, Miriam A. Mosing, Fredrik Ullén, and Laura W. Wesseldijk.