References to alcohol beverages, drinking behaviors or drinking contexts have been noted in country, blues, rock, soul, punk, and rap music lyrics throughout different time periods. Given that listening to music is the number one leisure time activity of adolescents, and that most teenagers know nearly all of the lyrics to their favorite songs, music is one potential source from which young consumers of popular culture receive information about alcohol. Available research, however, has not addressed the proliferation of references to malt liquor in song lyrics or how portrayals of malt liquor may differ from depictions of other alcohol beverages. In order to address these issues, the proposed study will perform an extensive content analysis of beverage-specific references in the top 100 songs from 1980-1999 in four music genres popular with young listeners-rap, alternative rock, country-western, and Top-40 pop. The content analysis will focus on the types and frequency of alcohol references as well as the themes, images and other characteristics of alcohol portrayals in song lyrics. The overall goal of the research is to determine how depictions of specific types of alcohol beverages differ from each other and vary across music genres. In addition to providing valuable descriptive information on alcohol-related content in a wide array of popular songs, this study will increase our knowledge of the ways in which malt liquor's presentation in song lyrics differs from the presentation of other alcohol beverages, particularly in regards to the presence of other health-related behaviors such as violence and risky sexual practices. This research will thus provide a basis for countering the potential influence of popular music and designing prevention efforts targeted for specific youth sub cultural groups regarding the use of alcohol and high potency malt liquor beverages.
| Grube, Joel W; Waiters, Elizabeth (2005) Alcohol in the media: content and effects on drinking beliefs and behaviors among youth. Adolesc Med Clin 16:327-43, viii |
