Another Shock Study: Goth Kids More Likely To Cut, Kill Themselves

And they have a very high risk of wearing too much mascara, too.

YOUNG people who adopt the "Goth" lifestyle of dark clothes and introspective music are more likely to commit self-harm or attempt suicide than other youngsters, a Scottish study has found.

"Although only fairly small numbers of young people identify themselves as belonging to the Goth subculture, rates of self-harm and attempted suicide are very high among this group," said Robert Young, lead researcher of the Glasgow University study.

The Scottish team described Goths as being a subgenre of Punk "with a dark and sinister aesthetic, with aficionados conspicuous by their range of distinctive clothing and make-up and tastes in music"....

The study, published in the British Medical Journal, found that 53 per cent of those who were linked to the Goth subculture reported self-harm and 47 per cent had attempted suicide...

"One common suggestion is they may be copying subcultural icons or peers," Mr Young said.

"But since our study found that more reported self-harm before, rather than after, becoming a Goth, this suggests that young people with a tendency to self-harm are attracted to the Goth subculture."

Michael van Beinum, a child-and-adolescent psychiatrist, said the Goth subculture might be attractive to young people with mental health problems, allowing them to find a community where their distress might be more easily understood.

The study was performed by three university statisticians hoping to parlay their M.F.O. (Master of the F'n' Obvious) degrees into Ph.D. (Phuckin' Duh!) degrees.

posted by Ace at 11:29 PM

| Access Comments