Australian scientists have discovered that a particular musical genre reduces stress levels.
A study from the University of Australia, published in a recent edition of the Journal of Community Psychology metal fans are calm—the opposite of what common sense dictates. The finding was reported by the Australian version of Noisey.
Written by Australian psychologists Paula Rowe and Bernard Guerin, the research titled “Contextualizing the Mental Health of Metal Youth: A Community for Social Protection, Identity, and Musical Empowerment” involved interviewing 28 Australian metal fans, 23 men and five women. Based on the discussions, the researchers found that their metal identity and music community helped them prevent mental health problems.
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In their research, Rowe and Guerin identified four factors that connect the mental profile of the respondents: experiencing bullying at school; feeling that music helped to reduce anger; having a sense of community, online or offline; and saying that metalhead identities helped them to distance themselves from problems and connect with other fans.
In conclusion, they said: “By speaking repeatedly and directly with young metal fans, it was discovered that musical identities help them overcome the stress of challenging environments and build strong personalities and communities, which reduces the potential for developing mental health problems.”
Although the sample used by Rowe and Guerin is small, and therefore the study cannot be classified as "definitive," it is a good sign for Metal fans. You can read the full research, in English, here .
