Teenagers who whittle away their time listening to music are far more likely to suffer from depression than those who spend more time consuming other media, including books, say the authors of a new study from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
The researchers called 106 adolescents – 46 of whom had been diagnosed with major depressive disorder – approximately 60 times over two months, asking them to report what kind of media they were consuming: Internet, video games, TV, movies, music, magazines, newspapers or books.
Teens who listened to the most music were 8.3 times more likely to be depressed than those who listened least.
Does that mean playing, say, Interpol on repeat could spark depressive episodes, or does it suggest depressed teens find solace in Interpol? Researchers say the cause and effect is not yet known.
“It is not clear whether depressed people begin to listen to more music to escape, or whether listening to large amounts of music can lead to depression, or both,” Brian Primack, lead author and assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics, said in a release.
Still, Dr. Primack said, “These findings may help clinicians and parents recognize links between media and depression.”
The link was far less pronounced with other forms of media, such as reading: Those who read most were one-tenth as likely to get down as those who read least. (No word on whether the young respondents were reading the Twilight series.)
Still, Dr. Primack said the reading versus music results were crucial, particularly since “overall in the U.S., reading books is decreasing, while nearly all other forms of media use are increasing.”
The findings are published in the current edition of the journal Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.
via Music or books? Teen’s choice linked to depression: study – The Globe and Mail
I would be interested to know if there is a certain kind of music these depressed teens are listening to.
There is no doubt that music is a huge influence on our state of mind and dark or violent music will take our teens to dark and potentially violent places ( in the case of depression this is more likely to be violence against oneself).
Moreover when teens wear ear phones there is a considerable isolation factor – a lonely world is created.
Yes I would imagine the rates are higher as they are already depressed and choosing sad, low energy music.
There is so much beautiful music that lifts and changes our state and energy kx
Obviously there is a lot more research to be done on the effects of different types of music.. The music played in mall and shops to encourage some age groups to linger and others move on comes to mind, and classical music played to milking cows ! Is there a particular Institute / group doing research in this area in NZ ?
I would have to believe that the type of music young people listen to could have a dramatic influence over their state of mental health but I also believe that it is in the isolation factor of creating their own world that would also be very powerful in the effect listening to music has. As has been mentioned in the article. Headphones are an instant way to tune out from reality. Cheap, easy and can be done almost anywhere. My daughter listens to music to workout to. My son listens to music at any given time and I know he drifts away into a dream type world to escape reality. This is reflected in his moods that I do not believe are totally associated to just plain adolescence.