by Barbara Miller
Metal music fans in France are no more anxious or depressed than the general population, in fact, they are somewhat less so. Fewer than 5 percent of the 333 fans in a recent study have pathological symptoms, as evaluated on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Characteristics of the small minority with high scores for anxiety and depression are: literature/arts interests rather than scientific interests, writing metal music lyrics, alcohol consumption, and body modification/scarification. Relevance: opponents of metal music should re-examine the basis for their criticism.
Photo, “Heavy Metal Funhouse”, via Flickr and Creative Commons.
anthropologyworks 
Interesting! I few years ago I stumbled across an article on the relation between country music and suicide (http://www.millersville.edu/~schaffer/courses/f2003/soc101/articles/maguire-snipes-94.pdf), and it seems like these studies of anxiety and depression should rather be directed towards the fan base of Kenny Rogers and Shania Twain. After all; “The authors interpret their findings as evidence that country music may ‘nurture a suicidal mood’ … “
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Would this not have more to do with class? Metal whilst traditionally a white working class artform is now more common amonst the educated classes, whilst pop country is more commonly appreciated by uneducated whites.
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