Post by Her3tiK on Nov 8, 2011 23:33:10 GMT -5
As a dedicated metalhead, I'm getting rather tired of people saying metal is evil/depressing/satanic/etc. I first came across this on an OpEd at MetalSucks, which does a pretty thorough job of shredding the claims made both by the study and the incredibly misleading press announcement that's been getting most of the attention. The gist of it is, of course, that teens (15-18) who listen to metal are more likely to be depressed/anti-social/suicidal. This study was done by Dr. Katrina McFerran of the University of Melbourne; Australia, I am disappoint.
There are some issues with the methodology of the research, which is outlined in the MetalSucks article:
Basically, the results of this test are based on the musical tastes of one school, which is located in a somewhat poor community. Not the most broad range of demographics to go with for something like this.
This does lead into something weird about all these articles. The press release, as I've already stated, portrays metal as a leading cause of suicide among teens. The research paper itself, by contrast, simply makes a correlation between teens who are generally depressed/antisocial and listen to heavy metal (punk, hip-hop, and "alternative music" is mentioned as well).
It's a correlation, sure, but it doesn't mean that the music causes suicide now, does it? In fact, the study finds that so-called "high risk" participants tend to feel better after listening to such "evil" music. If anything, this supports what I've been saying since I discovered metal; it's been nothing but a positive force in my life, and has gotten me through many a (teen-angst-ridden) tough time.
This finding, I think, is also relevant to the research conducted:
Yes, sometimes metal doesn't help your initial mood. I have found though, that it has long-term benefits to any emotional lows. Even if it doesn't help at the time, there is something gratifying about throwing on some angry music, Decapitated for example, and mentally doing 1,000 horrendous things to who/whatever is upsetting you. I'm fairly certain that this method of dealing with anything that really angers me has kept me from lashing out at the involved party in a more physical way.
So, in light of what this research seems to have found (barring the rather small number of participants), why go and release such a horrid press release?
I don't know what this has to do with the study; it's blatantly contradictory to the collected data, and looks to me like a cheap publicity student. Yeah, I know that bitching about people who use metal as their punching bag for society's problems (instead of taking a look at the actual issues) isn't exactly new, but this isn't some mindless preacher saying it, it's someone who's supposed to be doing research before making baseless assumptions or, in this case, false correlations.
I'd love to see this study redone, both with a broader audience and accurate representation when it's published. And I think that the author of the MetalSucks article concluded the analysis of both this research and it's media representation rather nicely:
There are some issues with the methodology of the research, which is outlined in the MetalSucks article:
The press release says that McFerran is “conducting in-depth interviews with 50 young people aged between 13 and 18, along with a national survey of 1000 young people…”. Maybe she is doing that somewhere, but this study was based on information gathered from a much smaller sample and more restricted methodology: a single survey done with a self-selected group 111 teens (aged 15-18) out of a universe of 342, all from a single school in Melbourne that had distinct demographics that were somewhat atypical of the average Australian.
Basically, the results of this test are based on the musical tastes of one school, which is located in a somewhat poor community. Not the most broad range of demographics to go with for something like this.
This does lead into something weird about all these articles. The press release, as I've already stated, portrays metal as a leading cause of suicide among teens. The research paper itself, by contrast, simply makes a correlation between teens who are generally depressed/antisocial and listen to heavy metal (punk, hip-hop, and "alternative music" is mentioned as well).
The results of our study found that these adolescents most frequently used preferred music to enhance their mood and reported feeling better after listening. This was most apparent in states of boredom and happiness where 68.47% and 60.36% of students respectively reported improvements after listening to music in these mood states. Fewer students reported improvements after music listening for moods of anger and sadness (45.95% and 47.75% respectively).
For each mood, the students were able to articulate particular music preferences. Rock, rap/hip-hop, R&B, dance and heavy metal were the most common preferences across all moods. Typically the group who scored as high-risk ofpsychological distress indicated the strongest preference for heavy metal while the low-risk group indicated a strong preference for dance music. Dance music featured much more prominently across all levels of risk during happy moods (see Figure 5), while participants at all levels of risk nominated punk, heavy metal and alternative music preferences for managing moods of anger (see Figure 6) and sadness (see
Figure 7).
For each mood, the students were able to articulate particular music preferences. Rock, rap/hip-hop, R&B, dance and heavy metal were the most common preferences across all moods. Typically the group who scored as high-risk ofpsychological distress indicated the strongest preference for heavy metal while the low-risk group indicated a strong preference for dance music. Dance music featured much more prominently across all levels of risk during happy moods (see Figure 5), while participants at all levels of risk nominated punk, heavy metal and alternative music preferences for managing moods of anger (see Figure 6) and sadness (see
Figure 7).
It's a correlation, sure, but it doesn't mean that the music causes suicide now, does it? In fact, the study finds that so-called "high risk" participants tend to feel better after listening to such "evil" music. If anything, this supports what I've been saying since I discovered metal; it's been nothing but a positive force in my life, and has gotten me through many a (teen-angst-ridden) tough time.
This finding, I think, is also relevant to the research conducted:
This is relevant when considering worse moods following music listening were reported particularly by the high-risk, psychological distress group. One possible explanation could be the concept of delayed hedonic gratification proposed by Larsen (2000). This model suggests that some strong emotional experiences may result in an initial deterioration of mood, but ultimately result in an improvement. This argument is used by Saarkallio and Erkilla (2007) to explain the phenomenon described by their participants of feeling worse immediately after listening, but ultimately finding the experience helpful either by increased clarity or greater understanding. However this is an unlikely explanation in the context of this study since participants were reflecting on experiences in the past four weeks. It could be assumed that any delayed positive effect would have been enacted by this time, thus altering how they answered the question.
Yes, sometimes metal doesn't help your initial mood. I have found though, that it has long-term benefits to any emotional lows. Even if it doesn't help at the time, there is something gratifying about throwing on some angry music, Decapitated for example, and mentally doing 1,000 horrendous things to who/whatever is upsetting you. I'm fairly certain that this method of dealing with anything that really angers me has kept me from lashing out at the involved party in a more physical way.
So, in light of what this research seems to have found (barring the rather small number of participants), why go and release such a horrid press release?
“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.”
Dr McFerran said parents should be aware of their children’s music listening habits, pick up on early warning signs and take early action.
“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.”
Dr McFerran said parents should be aware of their children’s music listening habits, pick up on early warning signs and take early action.
I don't know what this has to do with the study; it's blatantly contradictory to the collected data, and looks to me like a cheap publicity student. Yeah, I know that bitching about people who use metal as their punching bag for society's problems (instead of taking a look at the actual issues) isn't exactly new, but this isn't some mindless preacher saying it, it's someone who's supposed to be doing research before making baseless assumptions or, in this case, false correlations.
I'd love to see this study redone, both with a broader audience and accurate representation when it's published. And I think that the author of the MetalSucks article concluded the analysis of both this research and it's media representation rather nicely:
There is a persistent and wrongheaded trend in popular media to condemn people who prefer non-mainstream art. For people who draw a sense community and meaning from what this study calls “heavy metal,” this means putting up with being called “weird,” “abnormal,” “psychologically defective,” or even “immoral.” While the work done in this study could help dispel those unfair accusations, the University has done the exact opposite. I’m one metalhead who doesn’t appreciate the University’s naked dishonesty, and I call bullshit on them. It’s on them to begin to make things right.