The relationship between heavy metal and rap music on adolescent turmoil: real or artifact?

Adolescence, Fall, 1994 by Kevin J. Took, David S. Weiss

Originally this research intended to study heavy metal listeners, but it quickly became apparent that rap listeners represented another large group of adolescents with similar types of turmoil in their lives. Since heavy metal and rap represent the two major forms of socially disapproved music at this time, a decision was made to combine them.

This combination resulted in a total of 48 subjects (26 heavy metal, 22 rap). The 39 subjects remaining in the "other" group listed a wide variety of music choices with no substantial number listing any one type. The mean age in the heavy metal/rap (HM/R) group was 14.7 (range 13-18), with 14.6 the mean in the Other group (range 12-18) (p [is greater than] .05). When examined individually, both the heavy metal and the rap groups were found to be composed mostly of males (heavy metal, 65%; rap, 64%). Adding the two groups together resulted in significantly more males (p = .01) in the HM/R group (64% male, 36% female), than in the Other group (35% male, 65% female). When combined, there were no statistically significant racial differences, with the HM/R group being composed of 72% Caucasian, 4% Asian, 8% black, 8% Hispanic, and 6% other; and the Other group 55% Caucasian, 18% Asian, 8% black, 5% Hispanic, and 13% other. (Prior to combination, the rap group was composed of 54% Caucasian, 4% Asian, 18% black, 14% Hispanic, and 9% other; and the heavy metal group 88% Caucasian, 4% Asian, 0% black, 4% Hispanic, and 4% other.)

When the other variables were compared, many more significant factors appeared. On the adolescent questionnaire there were six significant (p [is less than or equal to] .05) variables. Five of these variables showed more turmoil in the HM/R group: Current grades below average (46% HM/R, 24% Other), suspended or expelled from junior or high school (44% HM/R, 23% Other), illicit drug use (23% HM/R, 8% Other), sexually active (40% HM/R, 18% Other), and counseling for drugs/alcohol (38% HM/R, 15% Other). (There were no differences in the total number of subjects in counseling, just the reason listed for the counseling.) The only significant variable for the Other group was also related to the reason for counseling; 68% of the Other group listed family problems as compared to 45% of the HM/R group.

There were seven significant (p [is less than] .05) variables when the parents were asked about their adolescents, with all seven demonstrating increased turmoil in the HM/R group: Below average elementary school grades (19% HM/R, 0% Other), suspended or expelled from elementary school (14% HM/R, 0% Other), counseling in elementary school for school problems (94% HM/R, 36% Other; again, there were no differences in the actual number of subjects in counseling in elementary school, just in the reason for the counseling), below average current grades (59% HM/R, 37% Other), suspended or expelled from junior high or high school (44% HM/R, 20% Other), alcohol use (36% HM/R, 16% Other), and history of arrests (45% HM/R, 20% Other). When the parents were asked about themselves, no significant differences were found between the two groups.