OBJECTIVE: Taking into account that several international studies suggest a correlation between music preference, especially for heavy metal, and suicide, this study aimed at to know the association of music preference with potential indicators of suicide risk. METHODS: Participants were two hundred undergraduate students from a public University in João Pessoa city (Brazil). They were 22 years old (SD = 4.77). They answered the Shorted Test of Music Preference, which measures the music preference with respect to fourteen music genres, and the Reasons for Living Inventory (RFL), which intents to know the reasons for living reported by people. RESULTS: Results indicated the total score of the RFL correlated itself with the preference for the music genres named as conventional (positive) and alternative (negative). Moreover, the preference for conventional genre was a predictor of lower suicide risk among youths. CONCLUSIONS: This research demonstrates the importance of one more variable, in the present work the music preference, to understand the suicidal risk between young persons. However, other studies must be carried out in the Brazilian context so that it is possible to understand better this relation.
Music; preference; suicide; youths
