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implementing this method. The collaborative model NOTES
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ensemble also offers opportunities for students to en-
gage in messy critical thinking and problem solving 1 Nirmita Panchal. “Recent Trends in Mental Health and
that fosters musical agency. The learner interacts Substance Use Concerns Among Adolescents.” KFF,
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and makes meaning from their musical environment February 6, 2024. https://www.kff.org/mental-health/
through the help of small peer-groups, aligning with issue-brief/recent-trends-in-mental-health-and-sub-
the educational philosophy of John Dewey. The more stance-use-concerns-among-adolescents/. Nicki R.Crick
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responsibility female adolescents are given, the more and Carolyn Zahn–Waxler, “The Development of Psy-
empowered choir members and individuals they be- chopathology in Females and Males: Current Progress
come, and these democratic processes may help them and Future Challenges,” Development and Psychopathology
find their identity through music. 15, no. 3 (2003): 719–42.
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Issues with leadership such as role confusion, lack doi:10.1017/S095457940300035X.
of direction, and individual apathy have been found 2 Maryam Abdallah, Wenting Hu, Cierra M Nakamura,
to arise in this model, yet more findings suggest that Haley Yamamoto, Madeline Haddad, Harinee Maiyu-
the groups seem to support individual contributions; an ran, Jenny Nguyen, Violet Yeager, and Robert Suddath,
intimate, collective desire for the success of each mem- “Disproportionate Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandem-
ber; and a reciprocal trust in the interest of meeting ic on the Mental Health of Female Adolescents: So-
the musical goals of the ensemble. Most importantly, cioeconomic Factors,” Journal of the American Academy of
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collaborative decision making has been correlated with Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 61, no. 10 (2022): S159–60.
a sense of connectedness and autonomy, which inspires doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2022.09.074.
even more community in the group. This support 3 Kari Batt-Rawden and Sarah Andersen, “‘Singing Has
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meets the blossoming need for social affiliation and be- Empowered, Enchanted and Enthralled Me’-Choirs
longing in adolescent girls. for Wellbeing?” Health Promotion International 35, no. 1
(2020):140–50. doi:10.1093/heapro/day122.
4 In this article, the term “female” refers to cisgender women
Conclusion who identify with their sex assigned at birth, while recog-
Many interventions have been implemented for nizing that gender identity is a spectrum.
youth in the United States, yet few have focused on the 5 Crick and Zahn–Waxler, “The Development of Psychopa-
mental health of the female adolescent population in thology in Females and Males,” 719–42.
music. A collaborative ensemble model has the poten- 6 Karen D. Rudolph and Constance Hammen, “Age and
tial to harness the benefits of choral singing to generate Gender as Determinants of Stress Exposure, Gener-
empowerment and provide these students with a lo- ation, and Reactions in Youngsters: A Transactional
cus of control that is correlated with improved mental Perspective,” Child Development 70, no. 3 (1999): 660–77.
health. Some resources that educators may utilize as doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00048.
a small beginning in their own classroom include The 7 Crick and Zahn–Waxler, “The Development of Psychopa-
Learner-Centered Music Classroom by Jonathan Kladder thology in Females and Males,” 719–42.
and Nana Wolfe-Hill’s “Collaboration and Meaning 8 Rebecca S. Bigler, Carlo Tomasetto, and Sarah McKen-
Making in the Women’s Choral Rehearsal,” in The Ox- ney, “Sexualization and Youth: Concepts, Theories, and
ford Handbook of Choral Pedagogy. The collaborative mod- Models,” International Journal of Behavioral Development 43,
el ensemble may be an opportunity to rewrite the cho- no. 6 (2019): 530–40. doi:10.1177/0165025419870611.
ral and mental health narrative for female adolescents 9 Crick and Zahn–Waxler, “The Development of Psychopa-
in the United States. thology in Females and Males,” 719–42.
10 Laura Finch, Russell Hargrave, Jessie Nicholls, and Alex
Catherine Grimm is a Ph.D. student at the Univer- van Vliet, “Measure What You Treasure: Well-being
sity of Minnesota Twin Cities. grimm199@umn.edu. and Young People, How It Can Be Measured and What
the Data Tell Us,” New Philanthropy Capital (2014): 1–5.

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