Abstract
ObjectivesCultural behaviors are theoretically linked to future life chances but empirical literature is scant. We use heavy metal as an example of cultural identities due to its high salience. We first assess the social morphology of metal preferences in terms of socio-economic and socio-structural positions, and then asses the short term outcomes of being a heavy metal fan on education and health behaviors.MethodsThe analysis was based on a representative random stratified sample of 23-year-olds of native Swedish, Iranian, and Yugoslavian background in contemporary Sweden (n = 2,232). Linear probability models with multiple imputation were used to calculate preferences for metal music and the association of metal preferences with subsequent outcomes.ResultsIn contrast to many prior studies, we find that the preference for heavy metal is not structured by social background or neighborhood context in Swedish adolescents. Poor school grades tend to make them more prone to like metal, but net of previous grades, social background, personality, personal network, and neighborhood characteristics, metal fans have substantially lower transition rates into higher education.DiscussionThe study suggest that metal preferences appears rather unsystematically with few important predictors, and is linked to lower education attainments in the short run. While these findings are specific to heavy metal as a certain type of culture and to Swedish adolescents, we suggest that they are indicative of how cultural consumption may play a role for life-chances.
Highlights
Cultural preferences and behaviors are integral to adolescents’ lives
The study suggest that metal preferences appears rather unsystematically with few important predictors, and is linked to lower education attainments in the short run
While these findings are specific to heavy metal as a certain type of culture and to Swedish adolescents, we suggest that they are indicative of how cultural consumption may play a role for lifechances
Summary
Cultural preferences and behaviors are integral to adolescents’ lives. Cultural consumption is key to their social identities, hierarchically structuring their lifeworld. Adolescents’ cultural consumption is a reflection of their parents’ social standing, and an effect of their own agency and is influence by their school and peer environment. Cultural consumption during the formative years of adolescence may have long-term consequences through the choice of identity and of friends and acquaintances, and may affect for example educational attainment and behavioral outcomes. Music is a pervasive and strong form of cultural expression that tends to be central to the development of identity, and to the formation of subcultures. We focus on adolescents (born in 1990) in contemporary Sweden, and analyze whether metal preferences are socially structured, and in turn whether they are associated with educational transitions and indicators of deviant behavior
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