Heavy Metal Fans More Exposed To Mental Illness, Study Finds

Read more at the University Of Melbourne web site http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/news/n-666

A new study claims to have found that young people at risk of depression are more likely to listen habitually and repetitively to heavy metal music.

Dr. Katrina McFerran, a researcher at University Of Melbourne — which consistently ranks among the best universities in Australia and the world, especially in the biological and health sciences — is immersed in a new study that aims to find out why some young people use heavy metal music in a negative way.

By conducting in-depth interviews with 50 young people aged between 13 and 18, along with a national survey of 1000 young people, McFerran is looking to develop an early intervention model that can be integrated into schools to impact positively before behavioral problems occur.

"The mp3 revolution means that young people are accessing music more than ever before and it's not uncommon for some to listen to music for seven or eight hours a day," she said.

"Most young people listen to a range of music in positive ways; to block out crowds, to lift their mood or to give them energy when exercising, but young people at risk of depression are more likely to be listening to music, particularly heavy metal music, in a negative way.

"Examples of this are when someone listens to the same song or album of heavy metal music over and over again and doesn't listen to anything else. They do this to isolate themselves or escape from reality.

"If this behavior continues over a period of time then it might indicate that this young person is suffering from depression or anxiety, and at worst, might suggest suicidal tendencies."

McFerran said parents should be aware of their children's music listening habits, pick up on early warning signs and take early action.

"If parents are worried, they should ask their children questions like — how does that music make you feel? If children say the music reflects or mirrors the way they feel then ask more about what the music is saying," she said.

"If listening doesn't make them feel good about themselves, this should ring alarm bells. Alternatively, if parents notice a downturn in their child's mood after listening to music this is also a cause for showing interest and getting involved."

Is that a repost from 1985?

you suggesting Australians are a bit backward?

im interested in what smithy thinks as he works in this field and obviously is a metalhead.

can we talk about that fact that the newsitem has the url : http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/news/n-666

666!!!!!!

coincidence?

I THINK NOT

haha first thing I noticed too!

email her that pic of you in the burzum shirt. :)

someone found her on facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=592381527 seems shes a bible thumper surprise surprise

so definitely send her that pic ;)

xp 985? How about pre-enlightenment? How scientific. Statistically I'm sure one can find more depressed teens who listen to Taylor Swift. So obviously Taylor Swift causes depression.

who is going to be first to say it...?

yeah, the idea that the music causes the feelings rather than the feelings leading to the musical choices is corny

the idea that people don't work through negative feelings listening to Rihanna too is corny

the statement “If listening doesn’t make them feel good about themselves, this should ring alarm bells." is beyond fucking corny- why should art make you like yourself?

was there really a sample size of 50? Isn't that, like, really small to be making claims like this?

whoa that is dumb

xpost wait a sample size of 50 puts the margin or error at completely useless, i didnt even catch that.

yeah was thinking that was a tiny amount. in academic research what sample size is a credible amount?

depends on the total population of the group

By conducting in-depth interviews with 50 young people aged between 13 and 18, along with a national survey of 1000 young people, McFerran is looking to develop an early intervention model that can be integrated into schools to impact positively before behavioral problems occur.

i guess there is a survey of 1000 teens mentioned up there - but yeah interviewing 50 of them just sounds like a search for pull-quotes for your ill-advised polemic to me xpost

> Isn't that, like, really small to be making claims like this?

C'mon, they consistently rank among the best universities in Australia and the world, especially in the biological and health sciences

Still, I really hope her advice is Don't worry be happy

just wait til this good doctor hears about this emo thing thats not hit Oz yet..

but what if you listen to Don't Worry Be Happy in a negative way?

just dont play the vinyl backwards, who knows what the whistle could be telling you to do!

so yeah the total population would be people between the age of 13 and 18 in australia (unless you are trying to make a statement about 13-18 year olds across the globe in which case she can just go ahead and give up now statistically) - guessing that the 1000 sample size is not awesome deviation wise but the 50 is just comical

We're sorry, Dr. McFerran, but your paper has been rejected for publication. Subject has already been explored adequately in the available literature.

http://i43.tower.com/images/mm111710575/black-sabbaths-master-reality-33-1-3-john-darnielle-paperback-cover-art.jpg

ok i dont know why i am doing this, but from what i can tell the pop of aus in that age group is about 750000-850000, so the simple pop based margin of error for the 1000 group would be +/-3.1%, and the 50 group would be uh +/-13.86%. those numbers just get worse when you attempt to generalize to the global population.

wonder what her findings would be if she interviewed fans of other genres of music. Chances are they wouldn't be any different from metal? in no way does every depressed person listen to metal. As said above statistically there's more chance of a fan of the worlds biggest artists being depressed simply because there's more of them. Surely they should have at least interviewed teenagers into pop,dance,indie, hip hop etc?

Plus there's lots of anecdotal evidence around that metal (and other music) has helped people with depression.

If I can link our own Ian G.'s work here...

http://www2.citypaper.com/eat/story.asp?id=17927

It makes me feel better about listening to all that Joy Division and Depeche Mode when I was a lad.

Repost from 1968. Nothing to see here.

TEENS listening to head-banging heavy metal music are at risk of depression and suicide, a study reveals.

The Melbourne University paper says early intervention at schools is necessary before behavioural problems start.

Dr Katrina McFerran's study spanned five years and found heavy metal music led to mental illness in some teens aged between 13 and 18.

"Most young people listen to a range of music in positive ways; to block out crowds, to lift their mood or to give them energy when exercising, but young people at risk of depression are more likely to be listening to music, particularly heavy metal music, in a negative way," she said.

Dr McFerran said people who listened to the same song or album of heavy metal music were in the highest risk category.

"If this behavioural continues over a period of time then it might indicate that this young person is suffering from depression or anxiety, and at worst, might suggest suicidal tendencies," she said.

Dr McFerran said other music genres including rap, rock and pop did not have the same results as heavy metal.

She said youths turned to heavy metal because they found it an escape from reality and liked that the music reflected the pain they were feeling making them feel not alone.

But the results also found that some teens had their moods lifted by listening to heavy metal.

Parents have been urged to ask how their children feel after listening to heavy metal music and if the kids were down, they should stop listening to it.

Dr Katrina McFerran's study spanned five years and found heavy metal music led to mental illness in some teens aged between 13 and 18.

How on earth can listening to music lead someone to becoming mentally ill? What nonsense.

that was from http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/heavy-metal-music-can-trigger-mental-illness-study-finds/story-fn7x8me2-1226171662904

Wally Week Posted at 4:53 PM October 22, 2011

Dr. Katrina McFerran, you are embarrassing yourself with this `research'. Please, go back to undergraduate school and learn the difference between correlation and causation.

Comment 43 of 45

http://i.imgur.com/ENSUH.jpg

these guys think the study is bogus too.

it took you nearly 2 hours to find a pic so you could troll? or do you really believe that listening to metal leads to mental illness?

thats not a troll, it's a dwarf.

nah, i've seen his pic. He's not that short.

http://www.metaphoricalplatypus.com/ArticlePages%20Music/Heavy%20Metal%20Music.html

Some studies have found that individuals become more hostile, aggressive, or angry after listening to heavy metal music. In particular, Mast and McAndrew (2011) found that after listening to heavy metal music with violent lyrics, male college students put more hot sauce in a cup of water they thought another research subject would have to drink than did students who listened to non-violent heavy metal music or no music at all. But other studies have found no aggressive response after heavy metal music exposure, and a few researchers have even found that subjects who were angry to begin with become happier, calmer, and more relaxed after listening to heavy metal if it's their preferred musical genre.

lol

Interestingly, Schwartz (2004) found that although heavy metal listeners are, on average, less responsible than youth who prefer lighter music, pop music fans are more conforming and more concerned about fitting in and being accepted by their peers, which could potentially put them at greater risk for succumbing to peer pressure. This is unsurprising, given that many pop music songs glamourize aspects of co-dependency. Study results also indicate that soft rock and Top 40 listeners are more uncomfortable about their developing sexuality than metal fans. Overall, Schwartz found that those with ecclectic tastes (youth open to a variety of musical styles ranging from metal to soft rock) were the most well-adjusted.

the black medal vegan chef does use a lot of Siracha

no kerr, i've only just seen this thread when I posted that link. found it on reddit yesterday and thought it was you but the guy looked like he was with a friend which immediately ruled you out.

How Does Heavy Metal Music Affect Animals?

A student named David Merrill subjected mice to the music of a heavy metal band called Anthrax 24 hours a day to discover how it would affect their ability to solve mazes, but instead of completing Merrill’s maze, the heavy metal mice all killed one another, battling it out until just one remained alive. In a subsequent experiment during which the music volume was lower and the mice were separated from one another, the heavy metal mice soon grew worse at solving the maze than they had been when they had first encountered it, and they fought one another when Merrill tried to put them together (Wertz, 7 February 1998). Although this result is interesting, research indicates that reactions to music are shaped by whether or not it is the genre of choice, and it's highly unlikely that mice (if capable of preferring any sort of music at all) would have chosen Anthrax.

oh and one on rap fans too http://www.metaphoricalplatypus.com/ArticlePages%20Music/Rap%20Music.html

http://www.metaphoricalplatypus.com/ArticlePages%20Music/Jazz%20Music.html
http://www.metaphoricalplatypus.com/ArticlePages%20Music/Classical%20Music.html

http://www.metaphoricalplatypus.com/Articles/Articles%20Music%20Psychology.htm

You think your kids are depressed now, take away their Coroner albums...

...if parents notice a downturn in their child's mood after listening to music this is also a cause for showing interest and getting involved... otherwise continue to ignore the little bastards.....

im interested in what smithy thinks as he works in this field and obviously is a metalhead.

sorry to be so late on this H. I think people who are experiencing times of great emotional stress often, sensibly, seek out music that either 1) soothes or comforts them or 2) reinforces the validity of their feelings by expressing them deeply. This second term is maybe hard to grasp but it's how I often deal with turmoil: I will find music that makes me cry, and listen to it again & again, getting more and more upset. It feels amazing. It's sort of like digging through the hard spot instead of turning around and trying to find an easier way. I think that a lot of adolescents who are feeling angry or confused seek out music that expresses those feelings. I put the agency on the patient; I don't think any kind of art makes anybody do anything. It speaks well of heavy metal if depressed people listen to it a lot; the way to read the data there is to say: "good, this music is useful to people who need music to help them make sense of their world."

This, meanwhile, is utter nonsense:

"If listening doesn't make them feel good about themselves, this should ring alarm bells. Alternatively, if parents notice a downturn in their child's mood after listening to music this is also a cause for showing interest and getting involved."

there's a line in the Master of Reality book about this. sometimes you want music to make you feel good. other times you want it to help you feel worse. there's nothing wrong with the way anybody feels; feelings are healthy. if music helps people experience their emotions more deeply, whatever those emotions are: that's fantastic!

I also feel that when people tell adolescents what the function of music in their lives ought to be, they are doing a terrible disservice both to the adolescents & to art, and really to themselves by insisting on limiting the function of music, which in so many lives can mean so much in so many different ways

I get really emotional about this so I should bail on this thread

i have to say i got more work done and was less irritated listening to 'reign in blood' than the latest fountains of wayne album today.

Lyrics aside, I honestly don't think this music is that negative, it's for people who just like loud music. It may be too loud or too energetic for many occasions, but as a metal outsider it has never stirred negative emotions like depression or aggression in me. Maybe depressed kids listen to it for the positive physiological response it provokes.

yea and some of us also listen to shit like Jimmy Webb too

http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lthptjWhty1qg70ruo1_500.jpg

i woke up expecting geir to have posted here

Well, he only has experience with one of the two topics, so.

Did I watch High Fidelity because I was miserable…

No but I bet you were miserable after it BOOM-TSSSHHH

the old ones are the best

And Tom D is certainly the best!!!