Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Music Taste Groups and Problem Behavior

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Internalizing and externalizing problems differ by musical tastes. A high school-based sample of 4159 adolescents, representative of Dutch youth aged 12 to 16, reported on their personal and social characteristics, music preferences and social-psychological functioning, measured with the Youth Self-Report (YSR). Cluster analysis on their music preferences revealed six taste groups: Middle-of-the-road (MOR) listeners, Urban fans, Exclusive Rock fans, Rock-Pop fans, Elitists, and Omnivores. A seventh group of musically Low-Involved youth was added. Multivariate analyses revealed that when gender, age, parenting, school, and peer variables were controlled, Omnivores and fans within the Exclusive Rock groups showed relatively high scores on internalizing YSR measures, and social, thought and attention problems. Omnivores, Exclusive Rock, Rock-Pop and Urban fans reported more externalizing problem behavior. Belonging to the MOR group that highly appreciates the most popular, chart-based pop music appears to buffer problem behavior. Music taste group membership uniquely explains variance in both internalizing and externalizing problem behavior.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anderson CA, Carnagey NL, Eubanks J (2003) Exposure to violent media: the effects of songs with violent lyrics on aggressive thoughts and feelings. J Pers Soc Psychol 84:960–971

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arnett JJ (1991) Heavy metal music and reckless behavior among adolescents. J Youth Adolesc 20:573–592

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arnett JJ (1996) Metalheads. Heavy metal music and adolescent alienation. Westview Press, Boulder

    Google Scholar 

  • Achenbach TM (1991) Manual for the Youth Self-Report and 1991 Profile. University of Vermont Department of Psychiatry, Burlington

    Google Scholar 

  • Bailey KD (1994) Typologies and taxonomies: An introduction to classification techniques. Series: Quantitative applications in the social sciences, 07-102. Sage, London

  • Binder A (1993) Constructing racial rhetoric- Media depictions of harm in heavy-metal and rap music. Am Sociol Rev 58:753–767

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bourdieu P (1979) Distinction. A social critique of the judgment of taste. Routledge, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown BB, Mory M, Kinney D (1994) Casting adolescent crowds in a relational perspective: Caricature, channel, and context. In: R, Adams GR, Gullotta TP (eds) Advances in adolescent development: Personal relationships during adolescence, vol 6. Sage, Newbury Park, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • Bryson B (1996) “Anything but heavy metal”: Symbolic exclusion and musical dislikes. Am Sociol Rev 61:884–899

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carpentier FD, Knoblauch S, Zillmann D (2003) Rock, rap, and rebellion: Compaisons of traits predicting selective exposure to defiant music. Pers Individ Differ 35:1643–1655

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christenson PG, Peterson JB (1988) Genre and gender in the structure of music preferences. Commun Res 15:282–301

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christenson PG, Roberts DF (1998) It's not only rock and roll. Popular music in the lives of adolescents. Hampton Press, Cresskill, NJ

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen J (1988) Statistical power analysis for the social sciences. Laurence Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ

    Google Scholar 

  • Currie CE, Elton RA, Todd J, Platt S (1997) Indicators of socioeconomic status for adolescents: the WHO Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Survey. Health Educ Res, Theory Pract 12:385–397

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferdinand RF, Verhulst FC, Wiznitzer M (1995) Continuity and change of self-reported problem behaviors from adolescence into young adulthood. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatr 34:680–690

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher CS (1982) To dwell among friends. Personal networks in town and city. Chicago University Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Fried C (2003) Stereotypes of music fans: Are rap and heavy metal fans a danger to themselves or others? J Media Psychol 8 (on line journal)

  • Frith S (1978) The sociology of rock. Constable, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Gerbner G (1998) Cultivation analysis: An overview. Mass Commun Soc 1:175–194

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen CH (1989) Priming sex-role stereotypic event schemas with rock music videos: Effects on impression favorability, trait inferences, and recall of a subsequent male-female interaction. Basic Appl Soc Psychol 10:371–391

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen CH, Hansen RD (1990) Rock music videos and antisocial behavior. Basic Appl Soc Psychol 11:357–369

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lacourse E, Claes M, Villeneuve M (2001) Heavy metal music and adolescent suicidal risk. J Youth Adolesc 30:321–332

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loeber R, Farrington DP, Stouthamer-Loeber M, Van Kammen WB (1998) Multiple risk factors for multiproblem boys: Co-occurrence of delinquency, substance use, attention deficit, conduct problems, physical aggression, covert behaviour, depressed mood, and shy/withdrawn behaviour. In: Jessor R (ed) New perspectives on adolescent risk behaviour. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 90–149

    Google Scholar 

  • Mandara J (2003) The typological approach in child and family psychology: A review of theory, methods, and research. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 6:129–146

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Martin G, Clarke M, Pearce C (1993) Adolescent suicide: Music preference as an indicator of vulnerability. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatr 32:530–535

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meeus W (1989) Parental and peer support in adolescence. In: Hurrelman K, Engels U (eds) The social world of adolescents. de Gruyter, New York, pp 167–185

    Google Scholar 

  • Miranda D, Claes M (2004) Rap music genres and deviant behaviors in French-Canadian adolescents. J Youth Adolesc 33(2):113–122

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • North AC, Hargreaves DJ, O’Neill SA (2000) The importance of music to adolescents. Br J Educ Psychol 70:255–272

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson RA, Kern RM (1996) Changing highbrow taste: From snob to omnivore. Am Soc Rev 61:900–907

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raaijmakers QAW (1999) Effectiveness of different missing data treatments in surveys with Likert-type data: Introducing the relative mean substitution approach. Educ Psychol Meas 59:725–748

    Google Scholar 

  • Rentfrow PJ, Gosling SD (2003) The Do Re Mi's of everyday life: The structure and personality correlates of music preferences. J Pers Soc Psychol 84:1236–1256

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Roe K (1995) Adolescents’ use of socially disvalued media: Towards a theory of media delinquency. J Youth Adolesc 24:617–631

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheel KR (1995) Preference for heavy metal music as a potential indicator of increased suicidal risk among adolescents. Unpublished thesis, University of Iowa, Iowa City

  • Scheel KR, Westefeld JS (1999) Heavy metal music and adolescent suicidality: An empirical investigation. Adolescence 34:253–273

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stack S, Gundlach J, Reeves JL (1994) The heavy metal subculture and suicide. Suicide Life-Threat Behav 24:15–23

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Steinberg L, Morris AS (2001) Adolescent development. Annu Rev Psychol 52:83–110

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Steinberg L, Silverberg SB (1986) The vicissitudes of autonomy in early adolescence. Child Dev 57:841–851

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Steinberg L (2002) Adolescence, 6th edn. McGraw-Hill, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Stevens F (2001) Gemaakte keuzes? Een analyse van de muziek- en mediapreferenties van Vlaamse jongeren [Choices Made? An analysis of the music and media preferences of Flemish youth]. Sociologische Gids 48:138–155

    Google Scholar 

  • Ter Bogt T (1997) One Two Three Four… Popmuziek, jeugdcultuur en stijl. [One, Two, Three, Four… Pop music, youth culture, and style]. Utrecht, Lemma

  • Ter Bogt T (2004a) Tijd onthult alles: Popmuziek, ontwikkeling, carrières. [Time is a revelator: Pop music, development, careers]. University of Amsteram/Vossius Press, Amsterdam

  • Ter Bogt T (2004b) De smaak van bloed: muziek en problemen van adolescenten [The Taste of Blood: Music and problems of adolescents]. Paper presented at the Dean's Symposium, University of Amsterdam, 16 September 2004

  • Ter Bogt T, Raaijmakers Q, Vollebergh W, Van Wel F, Sikkema P (2003) Youngsters and their musical taste: Musical styles and taste groups. Neth J Soc Sci 39:35–52

    Google Scholar 

  • Ter Bogt T, Van Dorsselaer S, Vollebergh W (2002) Psychische gezondheid, risicogedrag en welbevinden van Nederlandse scholieren. [Psychological health, risk behavior en well being of Dutch students]. Trimbos Instituut, Utrecht

  • Tillekens G (1993) Het patroon van de popmuziek: De vier dimensies van jeugdstijlen [The structure of pop music: Four dimensions of style]. Sociologische Gids 40:177–194

    Google Scholar 

  • Townsend P (1987) Deprivation. J Soc Policy 16:125–146

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Eijck K (1999) Jazzed up, brassed off: Sociale differentiatie in patronen van muzikale genrevoorkeuren [Social differentiation in musical taste patterns]. Mens Maatschappij 74:43–61

    Google Scholar 

  • Verhulst FC, Van der Ende J, Koot HM (1997) Handleiding voor de Youth Self-Report (YSR) [Youth Self-Report manual]. Rotterdam, Rotterdam, EU

    Google Scholar 

  • Vollebergh WAM, Van Dorsselaer S, Monshouwer K, Verdurmen J, Ter Bogt T (submitted) Mental health problems in school children in the Netherlands: results from the Dutch HBSC-study 2001. Wardle K, Robb K, Johnson F (2002) Assessing socio-economic status in adolescents: the validity of a home affluence scale. J Epidemiol Community Health 56:595–599

    Google Scholar 

  • Weinstein D (2000) Heavy metal: The music and its culture (Rev ed). Da Capo Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Zillmann D, Gan S (1997) Musical taste in adolescence. In: Hargreaves DJ, North AC (eds) The social psychology of music. University Press, Oxford, pp 161–187

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Received her MA in Psychology from the University of Groningen. Currently working on a PhD-thesis on the role of pop music in the development of adolescents at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR), Kloveniersburgwal 48, 1012 CX, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Juul Mulder

  2. Professor of Pop Music, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Researcher at the Trimbos Institute, Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addication, the Netherlands. Received his PhD in Education from the University of Utrecht. Interests include pop music, youth cultures, substance use, work ethic, behavioral and emotional problems., Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Tom ter Bogt

  3. Associate Professor of Education, University of Utrecht, the Netherlands. Received his PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Utrecht. Current interests are moral development, identity, and research methodology., Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Quinten Raaijmakers

  4. Professor of Education, University of Leiden, the Netherlands; Director of Research at the Trimbos-Institute. Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and interests concern adolescent psychosocial distress, and adolescent health and risk behaviors., Leiden, The Netherlands

    Wilma Vollebergh

Authors
  1. Juul Mulder
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Tom ter Bogt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Quinten Raaijmakers
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Wilma Vollebergh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Juul Mulder.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Mulder, J., Bogt, T.t., Raaijmakers, Q. et al. Music Taste Groups and Problem Behavior. J Youth Adolescence 36, 313–324 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-006-9090-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-006-9090-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation