Back in the 1980s heavy metal was getting a bad rap. Along with hip-hop, the genre was being lambasted by then-Second Lady Tipper Gore. Gore, one of the masterminds behind the now-ubiquitous "Parental Advisory" stickers, pinpointed videos from the likes of Motley Crue and Twisted Sister as being full of "'exceptional savagery with special effects that leave nothing to the imagination," according to a New York Times article published in 1988. More than a quarter of a century later, scientists now report that people listening to metal in the '80s turned out just fine and are actually a generally happier bunch than everyone else.
As The Guardian reports, a just-published scientific study found that metalheads "were significantly happier in their youth, and better adjusted currently” than the rest of the population, including youngsters currently enrolled in college. The study, "Three Decades Later: The Life Experiences and Mid-Life Functioning of 1980s Heavy Metal Groupies, Musicians And Fans," admits that the lifestyle included some risk-factors but also led to a mostly happy population. While "metal enthusiasts did often experience traumatic and risky ‘sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll’ lives," the study reports, "the metalhead identity also served as a protective factor against negative outcomes.” So what's behind the feelings of contentment? “Social support is a crucial protective factor for troubled youth,” the study says. “Fans and musicians alike felt a kinship in the metal community, and a way to experience heightened emotions with like-minded people.”
The sample size for the study was admittedly small with only 377 adults interviewed. Of those 377 adults, more than 150 were metal fans, musicians, or groupies in the 1980s, 80 weren't but were active music listeners during the same time period, and 153 were current college students in California. Still, the news is good and definitely rails against Ms. Gore's extended fear-mongering. But we have to wonder, are all groupies happy groupies, or is that just a metal thing too?
