• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.43-57
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• 2011

Chronic mental-handicapped people are lacking in non-verbal expression such as eye contact, intonation, voice volume, facial expression, and gesture as well as the contents of speech, speak with a monotonous voice, fail to be vivid and clear in voice, and have absence of expression, thereby bringing about difficulty even for social adjustment and about low self-esteem. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to examine effectiveness for enhancing self-expression and self-esteem by applying music therapy to the chronic mental-handicapped. The subjects were the chronic mental-handicapped who receive rehabilitation service at the community rehabilitation center, and who have over 10 years in the duration of disease. 1he music therapy activity was progressed with totally 14 sessions during 7 weeks with twice a week. This study confirmed t-test that is verification of difference in the mean, in order to examine difference between before and after music therapy in self-expression and self-esteem of the chronic mental-handicapped, and researched into qualitative case. The findings are as follows. First, as a result of score in self-expression scale, the significant improvement was shown after music therapy compared to before music therapy. The significant difference was indicated in verbal self-expression, phonetic self-expression, and non-verbal self-expression, which are its sub-spheres. Thus, the conclusion was obtained as saying that music therapy is effective for enhancing self-expression. Second, as a result of score in self-esteem scale, the significant difference was shown after music therapy compared to before music therapy. Thus, the conclusion was obtained as saying that music therapy is effective for enhancing self-esteem. Through the above results, the music therapy showed effectiveness of self-expression ability and self-esteem in the chronic mental-handicapped at the community rehabilitation center, thereby having been confirmed to be possibly utilized as rehabilitation program for the social skill ability and the social adjustment of the chronic mental-handicapped.