PhD ceremony Ms. D. Bobáková: Youth subcultures and problem behaviours in Slovakia. Hip-hop, techno-scene, metal, punk, skinheads, and Roma

PhD ceremony: Ms. D. Bobáková, 12.45 uur, Academiegebouw, Broerstraat 5, Groningen

Dissertation: Youth subcultures and problem behaviours in Slovakia. Hip-hop, techno-scene, metal, punk, skinheads, and Roma

Promotor(s): prof. S.A. Reijneveld

Faculty: Medical Sciences

Lifestyle, music preference, shared values and behaviours of young people can be understood as components of youth subcultures. This thesis captures a wide range of health- and school-related problem behaviours in youth subcultures such as Hip-hop, Punk, Skinheads, Techno-scene, Metal and, very specifically, the Roma subculture. It assesses the associations between subculture affiliation and problem behaviours (substance use, fighting, truancy, low academic achievement, and early sexual initiation) and whether peer and parent factors affect these associations.

In line with previous studies of subcultures, we found youth subcultures to be associated with various problem behaviours. Our study showed adolescents with subculture affiliation to be strongly influenced by peers regarding their behaviour. In contrast, the role of common protective factors in youth subcultures seems to be rather limited. Roma subculture differs from music-based subcultures, as we found lower levels of drunkenness and peer influence and stronger parental monitoring in Roma compared with non-Roma.

Preventive strategies could be targeted toward adolescents with a subculture affiliation, as they are at higher risk of problem behaviour, as well as their parents. Our results imply that the common cause of problem behaviour in youth subcultures might be a lack of protective factors as result of rebellion against parents and against conforming to society, which is embodied in youth subcultures. Another explanation could be that the lack of protective factors leads to problem behaviour, which gathers adolescents in youth subcultures via peer selection. These causal pathways are relevant for future research.