This study investigated whether use of alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana may be predicted from preferential consumption of particular music genres. Undergraduates (257 women and 78 men) completed a questionnaire assessing these variables. Partial correlation analyses, controlling for sensation-seeking tendencies and behaviors, revealed that listening to conventional music (pop, country, and religious genres) was negatively correlated with cigarette smoking (p = .001) and marijuana use (p < .001). Additionally, listening to energetic music (rap or hip-hop and soul or funk genres) was positively correlated with marijuana use (p = .004). The only significant predictor of alcohol use was country music, with which it was positively correlated (p = .04). This research suggests an especially harmful influence of energetic music on marijuana use.
AlanizM.WilkesC. (1998) Pro-drinking messages and message environments for young adults: The case of alcohol industry advertising in African American, Latino, and Native American communities. Journal of Public Health Policy4: 447.
2.
ArnettJ. (1991) Heavy metal music and reckless behavior among adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence20: 573–592.
3.
ArnettJ. (1992) The soundtrack of recklessness: Musical preferences and reckless behavior among adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Research7: 313–331.
4.
BaborT. F.Higgins-BiddleJ. C.SaundersJ. B.MonteiroM. G. (2001) The alcohol use disorders identification test, Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.
5.
BardoM. T.WilliamsY.DwoskinL. P.MoynahanS. E.PerryI. B.MartinC. A. (2007) The sensation seeking trait and substance use: Research findings and clinical implications. Current Psychiatry Reviews3: 3–13.
6.
BogtT. F. M.GabhainnS. N.Simons-MortonB. G.FerreiraM.HubletA.GodeauE.RichterM. (2012) Dance is the new metal: Adolescent music preferences and substance use across Europe. Substance Use and Misuse47: 130–142.
7.
BrownJ. D.WitherspoonE. M. (2002) The mass media and American adolescents’ health. Journal of Adolescent Health31: 153–170.
8.
CarpenterF. D.KnoblochS.ZillmannD. (2003) Rock, rap, and rebellion: Comparison of traits predicting selective exposure to defiant music. Personality and Individual Differences35: 1643–1655.
9.
ChenM. J.MillerB. A.GrubeJ. W.WaitersE. D. (2006) Music, substance use, and aggression. Journal of Studies on Alcohol67: 373–381.
10.
ChristensonP.RobertsD. F.BjorkN. (2012) Booze, drugs, and pop music: Trends in substance portrayals in the Billboard top 100: 1968–2008. Substance Use and Misuse47: 121–129.
11.
ClaytonR.OsborneR. E.MillerB. K.OberleC. D. (2013) Loneliness, anxiousness, and substance use as predictors of Facebook use. Computers in Human Behavior29: 687–693.
12.
CranwellJ.MurrayR.LewisS.Jeonardi-BeeJ.DockrellM.BrittonM. (2015) Adolescents’ exposure to tobacco and alcohol content in YouTube music videos. Addiction110: 185–196.
13.
CrawfordA. M.PentzM.ChouC.LiC.DwyerJ. H. (2003) Parallel developmental trajectories of sensation seeking and regular substance use in adolescents. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors17: 179–192.
14.
DonohewR.HoyleR. H.ClaytonR. R.SkinnerW. F.ColonS. E.RiceR. E. (1999) Sensation seeking and drug use by adolescents and their friends: Models for marijuana and alcohol. Journal of Studies on Alcohol60: 622–631.
15.
DoranN.SandersP. E.BekmanN. M.WorleyM. J.MonrealT. K.McGeeE.BrownS. A. (2011) Mediating influences of negative affect and risk perception on the relationship between sensation seeking and adolescent cigarette smoking. Nicotine & Tobacco Research13: 457–465.
16.
EngelsR. C. M. E.SlettenhaarG.ter BogtT.ScholteR. H. J. (2011) Effects of alcohol references in music on alcohol consumption in public drinking places. The American Journal on Addictions20: 530–534.
17.
EtterJ. F.Le HouezecJ.PernegerT. V. (2003) A self-administered questionnaire to measure dependence on cigarettes: The cigarette dependence scale. Neuropsychopharmacology28: 359–370.
18.
ForsythA. M.BarnardM.McKeganeyN. P. (1997) Musical preference as an indicator of adolescent drug use. Addiction92: 1317–1325.
19.
GrayJ. M.WilsonM. A. (2007) A detailed analysis of the reliability and validity of the Sensation Seeking Scale in a UK sample. Personality and Individual Differences42: 641–651.
20.
GruberE. L.ThauH. M.HillD. L.FisherD. A.GrubeJ. W. (2005) Alcohol, tobacco and illicit substances in music videos: A content analysis of prevalence and genre. Journal of Adolescent Health37: 81–83.
21.
HallP. C.WestJ. H.NeeleyS. (2013) Alcohol, tobacco, and other drug references in lyrics of popular music from 1959 to 2009. Addiction Research and Theory21: 207–215.
22.
HardcastleK. A.HughesK.SharplesO.BellisM. A. (2015) Trends in alcohol portrayal in popular music: A longitudinal analysis of the UK charts. Psychology of Music43: 321–332.
23.
HerdD. (2014) Changes in the prevalence of alcohol in rap music lyrics: 1979–2009. Substance Use and Misuse49: 333–342.
24.
HoffmannN. G.HuntD. E.RhodesW. M.RileyK. J. (2003) UNCOPE: A brief substance dependence screen for use with arrestees. Journal of Drug Issues33: 29–44.
25.
HoyleR. H.StephensonM. T.PalmgreenP.Pugzles LorchE.DonohewR. (2002) Reliability and validity of a brief measure of sensation seeking. Personality and Individual Differences32: 401–414.
26.
JohnsonR.CroagerE.PrattI. S.KhooN. (2013) Legal drug content in music video programs shown on Australian television on Saturday mornings. Alcohol and Alcoholism48: 119–125.
27.
JohnsonT.CropseyK. (2000) Sensation seeking and drinking game participation in heavy-drinking college students. Addictive Behaviors25: 109–116.
28.
KamJ. A.WangN.HarveyJ. (2014) Latino and European American early adolescents’ exposure to music with substance-use references: Examining parent-child communication as a moderator. Journal of Adolescence37: 185–196.
29.
KavanaughP. R.AndersonT. L. (2008) Solidarity and music use in the electronic music dance scene. Sociological Quarterly49: 181–208.
30.
KellyT. H.RobbinsG.MartinC. A.FillmoreM. T.LaneS. D.HarringtonN. G.RushC. R. (2006) Individual differences in drug abuse vulnerability: d-Amphetamine and sensation-seeking status. Psychopharmacology189: 17–25.
31.
LundinA.HallgrenM.BalliuN.ForsellY. (2015) The use of Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) in detecting alcohol use disorder and risk drinking in the general population: Validation of AUDIT using schedules for clinical assessment in neuropsychiatry. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research39: 158–165.
32.
MillerK. E.QuigleyB. M. (2012) Sensation-seeking, performance genres and substance use among musicians. Psychology of Music40: 389–410.
33.
MirandaD.ClaesM. (2004) Rap music genres and deviant behaviors in French-Canadian adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence33: 113–122.
34.
MulderJ.Ter BogtT.RaaijmakersQ.GabhainnS.MonshouwerK.VolleberghW. (2010) Is it the music? Peer substance use as a mediator of the link between music preferences and adolescent substance use. Journal of Adolescence33: 387–394.
35.
PalamarJ. J.Griffin-ThomasM.OmpadD. C. (2015) Illicit drug use among rave attendees in a nationally representative sample of US high school seniors. Drug and Alcohol Dependence152: 24–31.
36.
PrimackB. A.NuzzoE.RiceK. R.SargentJ. D. (2012) Alcohol brand appearances in US popular music. Addiction107: 557–566.
37.
PuenteC.González GutiérrezJ.AbellánI.LópezA. (2008) Sensation seeking, attitudes toward drug use, and actual use among adolescents: Testing a model for alcohol and ecstacy use. Substance Use & Misuse43: 1618–1630.
38.
ReadJ. P.WoodM. D.KahlerC. W.MaddockJ. E.PalfaiT. P. (2003) Examining the role of drinking motives in college student alcohol use and problems. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors17: 13–23.
39.
RentfrowP. J.GoslingS. D. (2003) The do re mi’s of everyday life: The structure and personality correlates of music preferences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology84: 1236–1256.
40.
RentfrowP.GoslingS. (2006) Message in a ballad: The role of music preferences in interpersonal perception. Psychological Science17: 236–242.
41.
RuleS. (1994) Generation rap. New York Times Magazine143: 40.
42.
SaundersJ. B.AaslandO. G.BaborT. F.de la FuenteJ. R.GrantM. (1993) Development of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT): WHO collaborative project on early detection of persons with harmful alcohol consumption—II. Addiction88: 791–804.
43.
SchwartzK. D.FoutsG. T. (2003) Music preferences, personality style, and developmental issues of adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence32: 205–213.
44.
SiegelM.JohnsonR. M.TyagiK.PowerK.LohsenM. C.AyersA. J.JerniganD. H. (2013) Alcohol brand references in U.S. popular music: 2009–2011. Substance Use and Misuse48: 1475–1484.
45.
SloaneK.WilsonN.GunasekaraF. I. (2013) A content analysis of the portrayal of alcohol in televised music videos in New Zealand: Changes over time. Journal of Adolescence37: 185–196.
46.
TannerJ.AsbridgeM.WortleyS. (2008) Our favourite melodies: Musical consumption and teenage lifestyles. British Journal of Sociology59: 117–144.
47.
TookK. J.WeissD. S. (1994) The relationship between heavy metal and rap music and adolescent turmoil: Real or artifact?Adolescence29: 613.
48.
VuoloM.UggenC.LagesonS. (2014) Taste clusters of music and drugs: Evidence from three analytic levels. British Journal of Sociology65: 529–554.
49.
WeisskirchR. S.MurphyL. C. (2004) Friends, porn, and punk: Sensation seeking in personal relationships, internet activities, and music preference among college students. Adolescence39: 189–201.
50.
WinstockA. R.GriffithsP. P.StewartD. D. (2001) Drugs and the dance music scene: A survey of current drug use patterns among a sample of dance music enthusiasts in the UK. Drug & Alcohol Dependence64: 9–17.
51.
ZuckermanM. (1994) Behavioural expressions and biosocial bases of sensation seeking, Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
52.
ZuckermanM.BallS. A.BlackJ. (1990) Influences of sensation seeking, gender, risk appraisal, and situational motivation on smoking. Addictive Behaviors15: 209–220.
