The Effects of Music Genre on Young People's Alcohol Consumption: An Experimental Observational Study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to test whether exposure to specific music genres in a social drinking setting leads to differences in drinking levels. An observational experimental design was used in which we invited peer groups of young adults into a bar lab, a lab which is furnished like an ordinary, small pub. Between two tasks, people had a break of 50 minutes in which they could order nonalcoholic and alcoholic beverages. During the break, participants were exposed to a specific music genre: popular, hard rock, rap, or classical music. Those groups who were exposed to classical music drank significantly more alcohol than those who were exposed to other music genres. This pattern is quite robust and does not depend on participants’ sex or age, drinking habits, own music preference, and relative importance of music in participant's lives. The study's limitations are mentioned.

• Keywords peers
• alcohol use
• music
• experiment

THE AUTHORS

Rutger C. M. E. Engels, Ph.D., is Professor of Developmental Psychopathology at the Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands. His research focuses on the interplay between individual characteristics (e.g., personality, outcome expectancies, genes), environmental cues, and actual social interactions on the initiation, maintenance, and determination of addictive behaviors, such as smoking, alcohol use, overeating, and drug use.

Evelien A. P. Poelen, Ph.D., is post-doc in Developmental Psychopathology at the Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Her research concentrates on gene–environment interactions and adolescent alcohol use, and impact of alcohol and smoking portrayals in movies on adolescent substance use.

Renske Spijkerman, Ph.D., is post-doc in Developmental Psychopathology at the Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Her research concentrates on the impact of alcohol prototypes on immediate drinking of youth, identification and attractiveness processes, and media influences and substance use.

Tom Ter Bogt, Ph.D., is Professor of Popular Music and Youth Culture at Utrecht University. He obtained his PhD with a thesis on the Protestant work ethic in the Netherlands. He is author of two books on youth and youth culture, and has written a series of television documentaries on youth culture and pop music in the Netherlands. His scientific publications address pop music, youth culture, substance use, and adolescent problem behavior.

Notes

1 We examined to what extent self-reported alcohol consumption (reported drinking levels per hour) was related to observed drinking levels for the four conditions. It appeared that lowest correlations were found for participants in the classical music condition.