Metal made me who I am: Seven adult men reflect on their engagement with metal music during adolescence

Abstract

The relationship between adolescent mental health and their habits of music listening with regard to metal music has been consistently explored in academic research since the rise in popularity of heavy metal in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Correlational studies have been most prominent, but do not tend to explore this relationship in the depth required to garner a detailed understanding of the nature of this music engagement. The aim of this study was to investigate adolescent experiences of metal music from the perspective of adults reflecting on this time in their lives. Descriptions shared in e-mail interviews by seven men from different countries were analysed using phenomenological strategies. Fourteen different themes were deduced from the data, highlighting a variety of experiences. These ranged from engaging and validating difficult emotions to gaining positive energy, finding out about world issues and negotiating social networks. The results of this enquiry challenges the dualistic notions of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ music often interpreted from quantitative data.

This corrosion: A systematic review of the association between alternative subcultures and the risk of self‐harm and suicide

“…The data also suggested possible benefits of subculture affiliation, including the sense of acceptance and belonging that can come from being part of a subculture. This mirrors findings from the wider literature on alternative subcultures (Hines & McFerran, ; Munsell, ). Data suggested that self‐harm was at times seen as a part of the Emo subculture, but this did not seem as strong a theme, more apparent in Trnka et al .…”

“…These mediating mechanisms clearly require further investigation. It should also be noted that there is evidence of the positive effects of subculture affiliation, in terms of a sense of belonging and community (Hines & McFerran, ; Munsell, ; Young et al ., ). Well‐designed longitudinal qualitative studies may be valuable here in examining possible mechanisms.…”

Wpływ muzyki popularnej na odbiór emocjonalny materiału obrazowego u młodzieży gimnazjalnej

“…[33] pokazuje, że preferowanie "mocnej muzyki" łączy się z ujawnianiem myśli samobójczych czy samookaleczeń słuchaczy. Inne badania wskazują na istnienie korzyści ze słuchania tego rodzaju muzyki: słuchacze ci przejawiają niższy poziom lęku i mają mniej objawów depresji [34] oraz większą motywację, pobudzenie, pewność siebie czy samoakceptację [35]. Gordon i wsp.…”

Developing a shared language within arts psychotherapies: A personal construct psychology approach to understanding clinical change

“…The success of change process research in APs is dependent upon understanding and defining the variables involved. Traditionally, this has been conceptualised as the relationship between the therapist, arts form, patient and the dynamics and the themes that occur, which together amount to a therapeutic narrative (Cassidy, Turnbull, & Gumley, 2014;Greenwood, 2012;Hines & McFerran, 2014;Huss, 2009;Koch & Fischman, 2011;McFerran & Wigram, 2005). This in itself informs a change hypothesis, but in art psychotherapy case study research the sequential observable actions of the therapist are rarely described and tested against a hypothesis of what might be changing for the patient in clinical work, and why the changes have occurred.…”