ROCK MUSIC, SUICIDE AND MEDIA INFLUENCE

Abstract

Suicide risk factors usually include: previous attempts, depression, comorbidity of alcohol consumption and drug abuse, gender (three to four times more suicides in men than in women), family history of psychiatric disorders, environmental and social factors such as periods of major social changes or movements: revolution, industrialization, secularization, migration, wars and the like. In this paper we should try to approach the problem by looking into the hypothesis of some researchers that rock music, or rock and hippie movements from the 60s to the end of the 80s of the 20th century, are included in these social risk factors, directly or indirectly. The arguments that the authors refer to are mainly: numerous suicides among both performers and listeners of rock music, many cases of emulated suicides of rock stars by fans, a large number of songs whose content speaks of suicide, evidence on the spot of suicide related to listening to such songs at the time of committing suicide, many lawsuits and trials against rock composers and performers by grieving relatives, etc. The aim of this paper is to analyze critically these facts as problematic for stating them as causes of suicide. Additionally, the paper aims to explain that for already predisposed, latent suicidal people, this type of music is only a mediator towards more intense socializing with similar listeners, indulging in latent suicide activities such as alcohol consumption and drug abuse and only subsequently to depression and suicide. Since suicide does not have to be associated with depression and the death drive, but on the contrary with the urge to live and the desire to be prominent, loved and remembered, the thesis that suicides of rock artists and supporters belong to this category should not be removed.