Resonating Resilience: Associations between Engagement with Selected BTS Songs and Hope, Adaptive Coping, and Psychological Resilience Among Adolescents and Young Adults

The mental health of adolescents and young adults has become a growing global concern, with increasing rates of depression, anxiety, loneliness, and academic stress. Although music has been recognized as a potential resource for emotional regulation, limited research has examined how specific songs promote hope, adaptive coping, and psychological resilience among young listeners. This convergent mixed-methods study investigated the relationships between engagement with selected BTS songs and self-reported hope, adaptive coping, and psychological resilience. Quantitative data were collected through an online survey of 199 self-identified BTS fans aged 13 years and above from multiple countries, while qualitative data comprised thematic analyses of the lyrics of seven BTS songs and 57 open-ended participant responses. All seven songs received positive evaluations (M = 4.416–4.586). Engagement with the selected songs was generally positively associated with hope, adaptive coping, and psychological resilience, with the strongest correlation observed between emotional connection and adaptive coping (rₛ = .287, p < .001). A significant overall regional difference was found for hope (H = 13.563, p = .035), although post hoc comparisons were not statistically significant. Qualitative findings identified themes of resilience, self-acceptance, emotional regulation, comfort, hope, and feeling understood, closely aligning with participant’s reported experiences. Overall, the findings suggest that selected BTS songs may support hope, adaptive coping, and psychological resilience. The convergence of quantitative and qualitative findings highlights the potential of music as an accessible psychosocial resource and contributes to growing evidence on the role of popular music in supporting youth mental well-being across cultural contexts.

BTS, music and mental health, adaptive coping, psychological resilience, adolescents

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