Heavy metal music has negative impacts on youth

20 Oct 2011 - Young people at risk of depression are more likely to listen habitually and repetitively to heavy metal music. University of Melbourne researcher Katrina McFerran has found. Young people at risk of depression are more likely to listen habitually and repetitively to heavy metal music. University of Melbourne researcher Katrina McFerran has found. A senior lecturer in Music Therapy at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, McFerran is immersed in a new study that aims to find out why some young people use heavy metal music in a negative way. By conducting in-depth s with 50 young people aged between 13 and 18, along with a national survey of 1000 young people, McFerran is looking to develop an early intervention model that can be integrated into schools to impact positively before behavioral problems occur. "The mp3 revolution means that young people are accessing music more than ever before and it's not uncommon for some to listen to music for seven or eight hours a day," she said.