Key takeaways:
- Artists referenced included Girl Gaga, Drake, Harry Kinds and Morgan Wallen.
- Songs that describe substance use in relation to celebration or heartbreak, for instance, can normalize these behaviors and attitudes.
Drug and alcohol references in well-liked music not solely correlate with use, however in addition they present alternatives for partaking younger sufferers, in accordance with a presentation on the American Psychiatric Affiliation Annual Assembly.
“Music — it’s a part of our each day lives, whether or not we discover it or not, from listening to a tune on the radio and listening to it on the way in which to work, to scrolling by way of TikTok and getting that one hook caught in your head,” Benita Lalani, BS, a graduate scholar at John Sealy Faculty of Drugs, College of Texas Medical Department, advised attendees.
Frequent references to drug and alcohol use in well-liked music could normalize these behaviors for younger individuals and influence their psychological well being. Picture: Adobe Inventory
“It’s throughout us, and that’s precisely what sparked this undertaking,” she continued. “So, we requested ourselves, how do the most well-liked songs annually mirror what’s taking place in society, particularly with regards to psychological well being and substance abuse?”
Benita Lalani
Lalani and her colleagues famous that music each displays and shapes the tradition.
“Over the previous decade, lyrics have more and more touched upon psychological well being and substance abuse in ways in which really feel private, particularly to the youth which can be the first shoppers of this music,” Lalani mentioned.
Songs that describe substance use in relation to celebration or heartbreak, for instance, can normalize these behaviors and attitudes whereas influencing how some followers see themselves or deal with stress, she mentioned.
“Music doesn’t simply entertain. It helps individuals cope. It helps individuals really feel understood, and it helps individuals categorical emotions that they won’t be capable of say out loud,” Lalani mentioned.
Widespread music, the researchers mentioned, can present perception into shifts in public attitudes about substance use and assist methods for intervention.
On the charts
The researchers analyzed the lyrics of the highest 50 songs on the Billboard charts for annually between 2013 and 2024 to establish and classify references to substance use and psychological well being themes whereas evaluating them with traits in nationwide knowledge.
Girl Gaga’s tune “Applause,” which was #37 in 2013, compares celeb with dependancy within the lyrics, “If solely fame had an IV, child, may I bear? / Being away from you, I discovered the vein, put it in right here. / I stay for the applause.”
“The phrasing suggests a dependency,” Lalani mentioned.
Iggy Azalea’s #5 2014 hit “Fancy” references alcohol in a celebratory context. Future’s #30 hit “Low Life” features a reference to molly, or ecstasy, and different substances in relation to wealth, fame, intercourse and violence. Drake’s #9 2018 hit “In My Emotions” describes alcohol and relationships.
“This highlights how alcohol typically pairs with emotional vulnerability,” Lalani mentioned.
The researchers cited the #3 2022 hit “Keep” by Child Laroi and Justin Bieber for alcohol use and relationships, the #2 2022 Harry Kinds hit “As It Was” for drugs, the #1 2023 Morgan Wallen hit “Final Night time” for alcohol and relationships, and the #14 hit “Like That” by Future, Kendrick Lamar and Metro Boomin for a number of substances, celebration and firearms.
“Alcohol is constantly probably the most referenced substance across the final decade,” Lalani mentioned.
These references peaked between 2014 and 2015, peaked once more in 2018, after which hit their top in 2024.
Lyrics about unspecified drug use peaked in 2020, Lalani mentioned, which aligned with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This yr additionally introduced an increase in themes like isolation, melancholy, coping methods and likewise generalized drug use,” she mentioned. “It’s mirrored each within the knowledge and likewise within the lyrics.”
References to marijuana, cocaine and different substances have been much less dominant, she mentioned, though she referred to as will increase in 2018 notable.
“The uptick is likely to be reflecting an increase in public discourse round marijuana use, drug legalization and leisure use that yr, and likewise the broader cultural emphasis on speaking about escapism by way of medicine,” Lalani mentioned.
Opioid references peaked in 2016 and 2017 after which once more in 2023 together with references to ecstasy in songs about relationship stability and firearm use. In 2021 and 2022, there was a peak in references to benzodiazepines and stimulants.
Actual-life use
The researchers additionally examined traits within the Nationwide Survey on Drug Use and Well being (NSDUH) between 2014 and 2023. Alcohol use peaked in 2014 and 2015 however remained constantly excessive all through the last decade, reflecting lyrical references.
Binge ingesting additionally was constantly excessive between 2014 and 2023, with a peak in 2023 that additionally corresponded with lyrical content material. Marijuana use elevated from 2014 by way of 2023, with a pointy acceleration in 2018 and a peak in 2022.
“Which may characterize an early shift in cultural dialog, even earlier than the mainstream media had widespread use of those medicine,” Lalani mentioned.
The 2024 knowledge has not been launched but, she added, however she and her colleagues anticipate to see one other enhance in alcohol use.
Cocaine, benzodiazepine and stimulant use lagged behind different classes within the NSDUH knowledge, simply as they did within the lyrical evaluation, however using these substances peaked in 2018 simply as their references did that yr.
“More and more, 2018 additionally marked one of many highest years in our tune use for cocaine, with 5 separate references have been talked about for that yr alone,” Lalani mentioned.
The uncommon mentions of benzodiazepines and stimulants in lyrics previous to a rise between 2021 and 2024 additionally mirrored NSDUH knowledge, she mentioned.
“It’s actually attention-grabbing to see how lyrical content material traits echo the nationwide survey knowledge use,” Lalani mentioned. “It actually does make sense, on condition that songwriting is commonly written and produced afterwards after which proven years later.”
Taking motion
Noting that these findings point out how lyrical content material tracks real-life traits in substance use, Lalani mentioned that well-liked songs could normalize these behaviors for younger individuals and influence their psychological well being.
Surveyed lyrics more and more included references to anxiousness, melancholy and coping along with substance use, exhibiting how intently tied collectively they’re, she mentioned. However music doesn’t simply need to mirror these points, she continued. It additionally generally is a device.
“We need to be sure that it gives us a technique to elevate consciousness, cut back stigma, and promote more healthy conversations round psychological well being,” Lalani mentioned.
Music can transcend reflecting societal discourse to shaping it, she mentioned.
“Lyrics give us a window on how individuals, particularly younger individuals, are feeling and fascinated with substance use and psychological well being,” Lalani mentioned.
On the observe stage, clinicians can act.
“A number of clinicians could have youthful audiences of their workplace, plenty of them speaking about anxiousness, melancholy,” Lalani mentioned. “What we have to perceive as a complete, as clinicians, is that music can play part of that.”
Music remedy generally is a worthwhile technique, she urged.
“This particular person needs to jot down music, write poetry, categorical their emotions after which share that with a clinician,” Lalani mentioned. “I believe that’s a very vital device for us to make use of.”
Simply asking sufferers about their favourite songs and artists could possibly be useful as properly.
“Everybody has totally different music tastes, so I believe asking your affected person about what they’re listening to does present perception into what they’re considering,” she mentioned. “Simply figuring out what sort of music they’re listening to really supplies perception into their lives.”
Examine coauthor Alec Manning, BS, scholar on the John Sealy Faculty of Drugs, College of Texas Medical Department, urged throughout the presentation that clinicians ought to sustain with well-liked music as a result of references will come up.
Alec Manning
“If in case you have youngsters, working with them, and youngsters, they’re going to talk in these references because the default. In the event you don’t perceive, you’ll be able to miss vital particulars,” he mentioned. “Consciousness on the subject and figuring out what the up to date terminology and lingo and all that helps you join higher with youthful sufferers.”
Lalani and her colleagues outlined 4 objectives in utilizing music to strategy substance use and psychological well being. The primary purpose is schooling.
“Let’s begin with lyrics as a dialogue device,” she mentioned. “We need to guarantee that they’re talked about in lecture rooms, afterschool applications and even in remedy classes to assist younger individuals actually open up about their psychological well being.”
The second purpose is advocacy.
“We need to work with artists and likewise creators to launch campaigns that destigmatize psychological well being,” Lalani mentioned.
Third comes assist.
“Meaning constructing and listening and secure studying areas, encouraging music remedy and likewise selling wholesome coping,” she mentioned.
Lastly, the fourth purpose is analysis.
“That is just the start,” Lalani mentioned. “There’s a lot extra to open up about music and the way it impacts psychological well being and substance use, so we need to proceed to look into it.”
Lalani mentioned that she and her colleagues will proceed this analysis, together with increasing the timeframe and as much as 100 songs per yr.
“The following step is taking a extra energetic function. Proper now, we’re simply lyrics and present knowledge and making an attempt to attract conclusions from there, however we will’t see any causality from that,” she mentioned.
“Subsequent steps can be taking a extra energetic function, actually asking youthful individuals what their views on music are and issues like that, and get extra knowledge from them, and have extra info instantly from the supply,” she continued.
Reference:
- Examine explores mentions of substance use, psychological well being in pop music since 2013. https://www.psychiatry.org/Information-room/Information-Releases/Examine-Explores-Substance-Use-Mentions-in-Music. Printed: Could 17, 2025. Accessed: Could 22, 2025.
For extra info:
Benita Lalani, BS, could be reached at balalani@utmb.edu.
