Men who loved gothic music in their teens and early adulthood are more likely to have mental health problems in their 30s, a study has found. But don't panic: Just because your teenager hears “Gothic” doesn't mean they're systematically developing a mental health problem.
This is the conclusion reached by Catherine McConnell, a doctoral student in psychology at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM), in a study published in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence.
Ms. McConnell and her colleagues followed a group of 390 young people from 2005 to 2011, when they were 15 to 22 years old.
“We accompanied them in each of these years and measured their musical preferences, especially Gothic, in our study. Then also measures of mental health and psychological well-being,” explains Ms. McConnell. They measured participants' appreciation of gothic music by asking them whether they liked singer Marilyn Manson and the band Nine Inch Nails.
They then reassessed the group members' mental health when they turned 30. “We really wanted to see whether this preference, especially for this type of music, would have longer-term effects,” emphasizes the researcher.
“Our study suggests that these young people in particular will have more problems in adolescence, early adulthood, when we like gothic music [de santé mentale] at 30 years old,” particularly among men, summarizes Ms. McConnell.
Risk factor
However, the study does not conclude that there is a causal connection between the fan base of gothic music and the development of psychological problems. The attraction to gothic music is more of a risk factor, says Ms. McConnell.
Men who enjoyed gothic music during adolescence and early adulthood were more likely to have problems with depression, anxiety, isolation, and self-esteem, and were also less satisfied with their lives.
Why is the mental health of boys and not girls affected by gothic music? Ms. McConnell put forward two hypotheses. The first corresponds to the fact that men would be more inclined to highlight darker themes and internalize them.
“They're more likely to get into what we call reinforcement spirals, where they would overinvest in the psychological difficulties that they already had in adolescence,” Ms. McConnell said, emphasizing that gothic music addresses darker themes such as death or death highlights apostasy.
Social norms associated with the male gender may also explain the fact that goth music has a greater impact on boys' mental health. Society expects men not to show their emotions and to be emotionally stable, while gothic music tends to be more emotionally intense, which is a contradiction, the researcher emphasizes.
More positive, pop?
Although this area of study is nascent, it can be hypothesized that fans of pop music would have better mental health.
“More mainstream music genres, which tend to appeal to the majority of people, are typically associated with more positive psychological states such as relaxation, ease and the happiness of being together,” explains Ms. McConnell.
The situation is different with so-called fringe music styles. However, they can also have positive effects on mental health. Studies suggest that belonging to these groups can have psychological benefits, particularly when it comes to “heavy metal,” which is associated with channeling emotions, Ms. McConnell says. Depending on the individual, these styles of music can therefore be both risk factors and “lifelines,” according to the researcher.
Should we be worried about a teenager liking gothic music?
According to Ms. McConnell, we should not systematically prevent a teenager from listening to gothic music. For the researcher, we need to consider this interest more as a “potential red flag” and focus more on this musical choice to understand what the young person likes about Gothic culture.
“Two things would need to be considered: how intense the preference is, to what extent it takes up space in the teenager's life and to what extent the issues are valued,” says Ms. McConnell. It is also important to consider whether the adolescent's entire social group is based on Gothic culture and what themes are highlighted in this musical style.
The graduate student reiterated that listening to gothic music can be a refuge for some adolescents and that there is no reason to stigmatize gothic culture, but it can be an indicator to observe what surrounds this musical interest.