--- title: Teenage Goths At Higher Risk of Depression, Study Says description: Researchers could not fully explain the link canonical: https://time.com/4014563/goths-depression-self-harm/ author: Naina Bajekal article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-28T13:03:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T10:31:20.526Z article:section: Health og:title: Teenage Goths At Higher Risk of Depression, Study Says og:description: Researchers could not fully explain the link og:url: https://time.com/4014563/goths-depression-self-harm/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe747fca36485ab6/6988615cf887dc7e9be921ae/goth-kid.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2317 og:image:height: 1303 og:image:alt: goth og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Teenage Goths At Higher Risk of Depression, Study Says twitter:description: Researchers could not fully explain the link twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe747fca36485ab6/6988615cf887dc7e9be921ae/goth-kid.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Teenage Goths At Higher Risk of Depression, Study Says > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators.  by [Naina Bajekal](https://time.com/author/naina-bajekal/)  ## Naina Bajekal Bajekal was executive editor and international editor at TIME. Aug 28, 2015 1:03 PM UTC  Portrait of a young girl Portrait of a young girl Getty Images  by [Naina Bajekal](https://time.com/author/naina-bajekal/)  ## Naina Bajekal Bajekal was executive editor and international editor at TIME. Aug 28, 2015 1:03 PM UTC Young people who identify as goths may be more likely to suffer from depression or to self-harm, according to new research published Thursday in [_The Lancet Psychiatry._](http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366%2815%2900211-4/abstract) The goth subculture began in England during the early 1980s, an offshoot of the post-punk era, and its members are most easily identified by their dark clothing and makeup. The study showed that 15-year-olds who identified very strongly with being a goth were three times more likely to be clinically depressed and five times more likely to self-harm by the age of 18. “Our study does not show that being a goth causes depression or self-harm, but rather that some young goths are more vulnerable to developing these conditions,” said lead author Dr Lucy Bowes from the University of Oxford. The research was based on surveys of 3,694 British teens, who were asked to identify with a variety of subcultures, including sporty, popular, skaters, loners and bimbos. Three years later, they were reassessed for symptoms of depression and self-harm. Researchers found that skaters and loners were also at higher risk, while ‘sporty’ teenagers were the least likely to suffer from the same problems. The study’s authors said teenage goths should be closely monitored so that they could be offered support easily if needed. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4014563/goths-depression-self-harm/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4014563/goths-depression-self-harm/"},"headline":"Teenage Goths At Higher Risk of Depression, Study Says","datePublished":"2015-08-28T13:03:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T10:31:20.526Z","description":"Researchers could not fully explain the link","url":"https://time.com/4014563/goths-depression-self-harm/","keywords":["Depression"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe747fca36485ab6/6988615cf887dc7e9be921ae/goth-kid.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Naina Bajekal","jobTitle":"Bajekal was executive editor and international editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/naina-bajekal/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe747fca36485ab6/6988615cf887dc7e9be921ae/goth-kid.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"goth","caption":"goth","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/depression/","name":"Depression"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4014563/goths-depression-self-harm/","name":"Teenage Goths At Higher Risk of Depression, Study Says"}}]}] ```