Music has Great Influence on Teens' Behavior

A child's music choice can predict whether he/she will display behavioral problems later, researchers say.

According to the background information provided in the study, previous studies have shown music tastes of a student determining his/her school commitment and academic achievements.  Apart from that, a significant number of studies have shown teens who like loud, non -mainstream and deviant types of music are at higher risk of being involved in deviant behavior than their peers who like conventional music.

Dr. Tom F.M. ter Bogt and colleagues from Netherlands analyzed and re-confirmed the link between early music preferences and later minor delinquency.

For the study, researchers looked at 309 children (149 boys and 160 girls) and their families in Netherlands. They followed all the participants from age 12 until they turned 16. The children's interests in various types of music, like rock, African-American music, electronic dance music, highbrow music and conventional pop were collected at different stages of growth like age 12, 14, 15 and 16. Teens self-reported incidents of shoplifting, petty theft and vandalism during the same period.

Researchers found teens, who preferred unconventional music like hip-hop, heavy metal, punk, techno/hardhouse and gothic over conventional, at higher risks of becoming delinquent in late adolescence. According to the authors, teens interested in rock music, though well-behaved at 12, were at higher risk of displaying problem behavior later.

"Early music preferences emerged as more powerful indicators of later delinquency rather than early delinquency, indicating that music choice is a strong marker of later problem behaviour," the authors wrote.

The study has been published Jan.6 in the journal Pediatrics.