We're Free: The Impact of a Rap Writing Music Therapy Intervention on Self-Esteem of At-Risk Adolescents in a Public Middle School Setting A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Fine Arts of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Music Jessica L. Schlabach May 2015 © 2015 Jessica L. Schlabach. All Rights Reserved. 2 This thesis titled We're Free: The Impact of a Rap Writing Music Therapy Intervention on Self-Esteem of At-Risk Adolescents in a Public Middle School Setting by JESSICA L. SCHLABACH has been approved for the School of Music and the College of Fine Arts by Kamile Geist Associate Professor of Music Margaret Kennedy-Dygas Dean, College of Fine Arts 3 ABSTRACT SCHLABACH, JESSICA L., M.M., May 2015, Music Therapy We're Free: The Impact of a Rap Writing Music Therapy Intervention on Self-Esteem of At-Risk Adolescents in a Public Middle School Setting Director of Thesis: Kamile Geist The negative behaviors displayed by adolescents who are at-risk can have detrimental effects on society. Developmentally appropriate, engaging treatments that adolescents enjoy may be the most successful as preventative interventions. The purpose of this study was to investigate rap writing as a possible treatment intervention to improve self-esteem of at-risk adolescents. A convergent, mixed methods design was used to provide qualitative insight into quantitative results. Quantitative measures include the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and a frequency count of low self-esteem behaviors. Qualitative measures included a thematic analysis of a post study questionnaire, a session transcription, and lyrics written by the participants. The results of this study suggest that rap writing had some positive effect on the self-esteem of three at-risk middle school boys. Participants perceived rap writing as a fun activity that increased confidence and satisfaction Keywords: music therapy, rap writing, at-risk adolescents, self-esteem, hip hop, rap in therapy, hip hop in therapy 4 DEDICATION To all the clients who led me on this unexpected journey discovering the therapeutic importance of rap and Hip Hop. 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost I would like to thank my thesis committee for their commitment to advising me through this process. Kamile Geist, Laura Brown, Richard Wetzel, and Greg Janson, thank you for encouraging me to be my best and supporting me throughout this academic endeavor. To Cory Fletcher, for your support throughout this process even when completing this task felt impossible. I could not have completed this journey without your kind words and actions. Many thanks to my parents, John Schlabach and Tina Wilson, and my sister, Kelly Schlabach, for always taking an interest in what I do. Thank you so much for your continued love and support. To my employer Erin Spring for your understanding, and commitment to helping me complete graduate school and my thesis while working in the music therapy field. To my various extended family, especially Sarah Coffin and Sue Fletcher, for sharing your knowledge and advice throughout this process. Finally, I must thank the music therapists, and other clinicians, who have paved the way for Hip Hop in music therapy despite stigmas of the genre. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract................................................................................................................................3 Dedication............................................................................................................................4 Acknowledgements..............................................................................................................5 List of Figures......................................................................................................................8 Chapter 1: Introduction........................................................................................................9 Problem Statement.........................................................................................................12 Purpose Statement .........................................................................................................12 Research Questions........................................................................................................13 Definition of Terms .......................................................................................................14 Chapter 2: Review of Literature ........................................................................................16 Need for Treatment........................................................................................................16 Importance of Adolescent Self-esteem..........................................................................18 Types of Treatment........................................................................................................19 Rap Music as Music Therapy Treatment.......................................................................24 Gaps in the Literature ....................................................................................................28 Chapter 3: Methods............................................................................................................30 Participants ....................................................................................................................32 Music Therapy Sessions ................................................................................................34 Data Collection and Analysis ........................................................................................37 Data Organization..........................................................................................................40 Validity and Reliability .................................................................................................40 Chapter 4: Results..............................................................................................................42 Research Questions........................................................................................................42 Quantitative Results.......................................................................................................43 Qualitative Results.........................................................................................................46 Comparison and Interpretation: Qualitative Interpretation of Quantitative Results......49 Chapter 5: Discussion........................................................................................................55 Expected Findings Related to Literature .......................................................................55 Unexpected Findings .....................................................................................................58 7 Theme of Freedom—Giving a Voice to the Voiceless..................................................59 Limitations.....................................................................................................................62 Recommendations for Further Research .......................................................................64 Conclusion and Implications .........................................................................................65 References..........................................................................................................................68 Appendix A: Ohio University Parental Consent Form......................................................77 Appendix B: Letter of Introduction ...................................................................................80 Appendix C: Assent Form .................................................................................................81 Appendix D: Control Group Parental Consent Form ........................................................82 Appendix E: Control Group Assent Form.........................................................................84 Appendix F: Facility Letter of Support .............................................................................85 Appendix G: Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965) .......................................86 Appendix H: Rap Writing Prompts ...................................................................................87 Appendix I: End of Study Questionnaire...........................................................................88 Appendix J: Participant Written Rap.................................................................................89 Appendix K: Lyrics and Lyric Discussion Prompts..........................................................90 8 LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1: Diagram for the Convergent Mixed Method Design……………………...….31 Figure 2: Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale Pre and Post-test Data………………….….......43 Figure 3: Mode of Low Self-esteem Behavior Frequency Count Data, Student B…..…45 Figure 4: Mode of Low Self-esteem Behavior Frequency Count Data, Student I……...45 Figure 5: Mode of Low Self-esteem Behavior Frequency Count Data, Student S……..46 9 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Low self-esteem, low academic success, and negative life circumstances are daily struggles that plague at-risk adolescents and can contribute towards dropout. In the United States, 7.4% of the population were considered high school dropouts in 2010 (Hansen, 2014; Kanu, 2014) and the National Center for Education Statistics reports the typical national average of dropout is 3.4%. Negative