Suicide

Abstract

Suicide and self-harming behavior are prevalent topics in the lyrics of popular music. Genres such as heavy metal, rap, and rock often deal with themes related to death, alienation, and depression. Whole musical subcultures such as emo (emotional) and Goth (Gothic) have arisen around music focusing on such dark themes. The connection between youth suicide and music or other media has therefore frequently been publicized in the press. Some researchers suggest that music with suicidal themes can act as a priming agent or can intensify tendencies to self-harm and suicide. While correlational evidence has linked certain genres with suicide, it is likely that other factors such as family dysfunction are more closely implicated