The association between goth subculture identification,
depression, and self-harm

Depression and self-harm are major public health concerns in teenagers, with at least 10% of teenagers in developed countries reporting self-harm by the age of 16 years.^1–3 The rates of emotional problems in adolescence might also be increasing.⁴ Many factors could be associated with emotional problems in this age group, including subculture identification.⁵ In The Lancet Psychiatry, Lucy Bowes and colleagues⁶ used data from a UK community-based birth cohort (the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children [ALSPAC])to investigate whether the emergence of depression and self-harm at 18 years is associated with self-identification as a goth at the age of 15 years (3964 individuals included in analysis).