Emos, goths and metalheads. These are some of the most popular urban tribes among young people and adolescents who seek to consolidate their identity, be different and at the same time share their similarities with a group of peers who understand them.
Understanding the characteristics of some of the most popular urban tribes and the behaviors they can encourage, a systematic review found that young people who identify with one of these urban tribes are at greater risk of self-harm and committing suicide.
The research examined research that had been published in scientific databases such as PsycINFO, Scopus, MEDLINE and E-Thesis, on the relationship between urban tribes or alternative music preferences and self-harming behavior and suicide. In total, there were 10 investigations (two longitudinal and eight transversal) that met the requirements established by the researchers.
Young people who identified with one of the urban tribes had three times the risk of self-harm and six times the risk of committing suicide
Taken together, these investigations found a direct relationship between membership and active participation in urban tribes with an increase in self-harming behaviors and a greater risk of suicide. Two of these studies even reported that young people who identified with one of the urban tribes had three times the risk of self-harm and six times the risk of committing suicide. One of the investigations found a strong relationship between the urban tribe gothic with self-injury and remained a predictor of self-injurious behavior even when other variables were controlled.
Regarding musical preferences, the research found a weak association between heavy metal and increased risk of suicidal ideation and self-harm, compared to people who did not have that preference. It should be noted that this association disappeared when the researchers took into consideration other risk factors that could increase suicidal risk, such as: parental neglect, lack of rules at home, and substance use.
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How can we explain the relationship between urban tribes gothic and let’s with the risk of suicide?
It is not yet known precisely what the underlying mechanisms are that explain this relationship, but researchers outline some explanations.
The first is that self-harm could function as a coping mechanism for the stress, stigma, hatred and victimization suffered by young people involved in these groups. This explanation is consistent with other theories that explain the mechanisms to regulate emotional distress. In simpler words, these young people share certain characteristics of vulnerability and dangerous coping resources.
On the other hand, the authors also explain that this same behavior could be modeled, normalized and even reinforced within the same urban tribe, which could even further enhance the use of self-harm as a coping method. In other words, they learn it within the group.
Another explanation is that some urban tribes are more associated with the morbid aesthetics of suicide, which at the same time makes them more likely to suffer from it. A very well-studied phenomenon that shows that reproducing images of self-harm and suicide increases the risk that other people will also commit the same type of behavior.
What can be done to reduce the risk of suicide in urban tribes?
The authors propose the following measures:
1 – Awareness of the victimization suffered by people affiliated with different urban tribes must be increased through campaigns that reduce stigma and strengthen the functional coping capacities of their members.
2 – Train mental health professionals and educators so that they can understand the nature and role that urban tribes play in the identity of young people and the effect they could reinforce on suicidal behaviors. At the same time, they recommend that they should receive training with early prevention interventions.
3 – Introduce preventive programs that reduce the risk of suicidal behavior through psychoeducation in mental health systems and schools. Involving families to take an active part in intervention programs based on self-efficacy and communication skills.
4 – Work directly with the young people involved through creative resources that leverage young people’s interests to improve their engagement, improve communication and reduce stigma.
Original study reference: Hughes, MA, Knowles, SF, Dhingra, K., Nicholson, HL and Taylor, PJ (2018), This corrosion: A systematic review of the association between alternative subcultures and the risk of self-harm and suicide. Br J Clin Psychol. .
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