Antonio J. Teixeira
University of Rhode Island
Major: Psychology
Mentor: Prof. Michael J. Donnelly Associate Professor, Sociology
The Effects of Gangster Rap Music on Adolescent Aggressive Behavior
Due to the violent nature of its lyrics , the sub-genre Gangster Rap music has received a great deal of criticism in the popular media; critics argue that listening to Gangster Rap music is causally related to adolescent maladaptive behavior. The purpose of this study is to explore whether there is a relationship between listening to Gangster Rap music and aggressive behavior in adolescents.
The study was two pronged, quantitative as well as qualitative approaches were utilized. Questionnaires were administered to samples of urban high school students to determine, how big is the population of Gangster Rap listeners and to differentiate those subjects from the non- Rap listeners. The questionnaire also tapped into attitude towards aggression as well as aggressive behavior. Interviews were designed to probe into the subjective experience of listening to Gangster Rap.
Given the time constraint of the program, continuation of the study is necessary in order to compile additional information. which will be will be presented at a later date.
