Alternative Fashion & Mental Health

Collaboration with Abbi!

With the slew of articles linking depression, self harm, and Goth fashion, one has to ask- why?

A study of 2,300 british teens conducted by Oxford University found that 15 year olds “who identified as a Goth were 27% more likely to have depression at 18 years” than their peers. This blew up the media- but the results were inconclusive. The research could not prove that goth is at fault for the mental health issues of teens, but many articles and concerned parents seemed to ignore the fact that the link between might be muddled- it could be peer contagion, or a preexisting disorder. "I was depressed and ill before I was a goth" Nattalie Richardson, 29, said in response to the idea that goth leads to depression and self harm.

 

The researchers did not specify that depression was causing kids to join the goth subculture, or if the goth subculture was causing their depression. The teens could be attracted to the goth community for a sense of solidarity and comfort, as “the Goth community is traditionally very accepting of marginalized individuals”. It could be that “youths who feel isolated from mainstream society are attracted to this particular group, and may indeed gain support and help through being part of this subculture,” Lucy Bowes, researcher for Oxford University said. "Teenagers who are susceptible to depression or with a tendency to self-harm may be attracted to the goth subculture which is known to embrace marginalized individuals," said Rebecca Pearson from the University of Bristol in Britain. Those who identified as goth had a family history of depression, have been bullied, or have behavioral and emotional problems already. There is no way to prove that if the individual would not have developed depression by 18 years old if they had not been a part of the goth community, but nonetheless, goth teens were three times more likely to be depressed than other, “normal” teens.



Still, researchers say that parents should not try to stop their children from being part of a goth group or being goth, because belonging to a group and having friends provides solidarity and comfort to depressed teens.

“Parents whose children identify with the Goth subculture need not be concerned,” Bowes said. “The majority of teenagers identifying as a Goth in our study were not depressed and did not self-harm.”

Is correlation causation? Should parents of young goths be concerned?