Music + Teens = Depression or Depression + Teens = Music?

I just came across an excerpt of this article in a magazine last week and thought it was worth discussing. The article from NPR.org (http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/04/06/135151133/what-comes-first-depression-in-teens-or-emo-music) discusses that teens are more likely to be depressed if they listen to a lot of music. On the contrary, students who read a lot are less likely to be depressed. The study was done by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh.

It almost seemed to be sort of a "which came first, the chicken or the egg?" type question when determining whether depressed kids tended to listen to music more, or kids who listened to music more tended to be depressed. While this was not the main focus of the study, the lead researcher stated that it was more likely that depressed teens listened to music for comfort, rather than music making kids depressed.

I did not realize that nearly ten percent of teens suffered from depression. Earlier assumptions were that depressed teens watched more tv; however, the study showed a much stronger correlation between depressed teens and music, rather than tv. Researchers attributed the lower rate of depression among avid readers to the fact that reading is more engaging for the brain, to the extent that depressed teens may not have the energy to engage their brain at that level.

I found it really interesting to apply this finding anecdotally to some of my students. I found that the more that I thought about it, I tended to agree with the findings. My students that often try to listen to music constantly do sometimes tend to be more withdrawn than others, which would be a major sign of possible depression. Having said that, one of the more severally depressed students that I have had over the years read constantly which definitely goes against the finding of this study. Obviously the study is not without exception as you might expect.

Overall, I did find it quite interesting and I am going to be more watchful of student behavior and add this to my bag of tricks in trying to help my students to the extent that I can.