Substance Use: Hot Topic in Popular Music

The American Public Health Association's Annual Meeting & Exposition will be held in Washington D.C the week of November 5-9 and two of the studies that will be presented on Wednesday November 7 should be of interest to parents of teenagers and pre-teenagers.

According to a Newswise.com press release, Brian A. Primack, MD, lead researcher will present a study titled (1)Content Analysis of References to Substance Abuse in Popular Music. It documents that 33% of the songs teenagers listened to in 2005 contained references to substance use. The study examined 279 songs that were rated as the most popular by Billboard magazine and concluded that people who listened to popular music heard an average of more than 35 references to substance use per hour.

The press release states that Rap music was by far the greatest offender, with 77% of Rap songs including references to substance use. The abstract being presented at the conference states the percentage for this category to be a greater number of 86 percent. The category of Country music was in 2nd place with 37% of country songs making mention of or having the subject of substance use. The press release states that the combined percentage of R&B/Hip Hop music containing substance use mentions was at 20% in 2005.

However, a closer review of the abstract reveals that the figure that is going to be presented for R&B/Hip Hop states that the number is 29 percent. Both the press release and the abstract agree that the lowest percentages for music categories with substance use references were the rock and pop categories. The press release and the abstract agree on the percentage for the rock category being 14%, but the press release states the percentage for Pop music substance use references to be at 9%, while the abstract actually places Pop music substance use references at a higher 12 percent.

Though the numbers do not match exactly, the essential facts are the same. Primack states, "Previous research has shown that exposure to substance use messages in media is linked to actual substance use in adolescents.

That is why we need to be aware of exposures such as these, especially when they are associated with highly positive consequences and associations." The abstract states that the substance use was generally connected in the song with "partying, sex, violence, and/or humor". Only 4 songs of the 279 made any mention of abstaining from using substances. The most common substances mentioned were alcohol and marijuana. Tobacco use was the least mentioned substance.

The press release makes note of the fact that the popular MP3 players and earplugs are not conducive to parents being aware of the subject matter of their children's music.

According to independent research by this author, another abstract on a closely related subject will also be presented on Wednesday afternoon. It is titled
(2)Youth Substance Abuse Trends. The presenter of this study will be Mian B. Hossain, PhD, Biostatistics, School of Public Health and Policy in Baltimore, MD. Hossain will report on the National Survey on Drug Use and Health and report facts about marijuana use in 2005. The survey states that marijuana use in the age group of 12-17 years was 6.8 percent.

The survey also states that 51% of that age group felt that marijuana would be easily accessible to them. The abstract reports that those who feel that the drug is very accessible to them are more likely to begin using the drug. A high percentage (90.2%) of teens stated that their parents would not be pleased if they tried the drug.

The study's purpose was to explore the question of parental involvement and if it really made a difference in whether or not the teen became involved with the drug. The teens responded to an extensive questionnaire, which revolved around the subject of parental involvement in and control of the teenager's life. The data showed that the teens whose parents were the most involved and the most aware of their children's activities, were the teens who reported the least amount of marijuana use

Both studies re-enforce the benefits when parents stay aware of the activities of their teens (and pre-teens) and when parents are actively involved in the lives of their children.

Newswise.com

[1] http://apha.confex.com/apha/135am/techprogram/paper_149650.htm

(2) http://apha.confex.com/apha/135am/techprogram/paper_163772.htm