The effect of music on financial anxiety: an experimental analysis among Italian young adults

Background: Financial anxiety has increased over the past decade, particularly among young people. While prior research has examined its determinants and consequences, coping strategies have been very poorly explored so far. Objective: This study investigates the impact of music with different emotional content (positive vs. negative) on financial anxiety, focusing on gender differences. Methods: The study involved 319 participants under 30 years old, randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions: no music, happy (positive) music, or sad (negative) music. Results: The results indicate that neither positive nor negative music serves as a coping strategy for managing financial anxiety in young adults. Instead, exposure—especially to positive music—is associated with higher anxiety. In the full sample, positive music increases financial anxiety compared to no music, while negative music has no significant effect. Participants exposed to positive music also report higher anxiety than those exposed to negative music. Gender differences emerge. Among men, neither type of music significantly affects anxiety compared to no music, although positive music leads to higher anxiety than negative music. Among women, both positive and negative music significantly increase financial anxiety. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that music is not an effective tool for reducing financial anxiety. In particular, exposure to positive music is associated with higher financial anxiety, while negative music does not show, on average, any significant effect. Importantly, this result implies substantial gender heterogeneity. Women show higher anxiety under both types of music, while men respond only to the relative emotional content.