Can popular music drive youths to drugs, drinking?

No matter the generation, parents and adults have always been known to complain about the popular music being listened to by children and teens.

Now comes word that substance abuse, be it alcohol or drugs, is infiltrating popular music at an alarming pace.

Do parents know what their children are listening to when they're blocking them out with their iPod earbuds firmly in place? If they are listening to popular music, chances are high that they are hearing references to substance use.

According to new research presented at the American Public Health Association's annual meeting and exposition in Washington, D.C., 33 percent of the most popular songs of 2005 portrayed substance use.

The study, in which researchers analyzed 279 of the year's most popular songs according to Billboard magazine, also found that allusions to substance use varied widely by genre.

Rap music led the way with 77 percent of songs referring to substance use, followed by country at 37 percent and R&B/ hip-hop at 20 percent. Rock and pop were on the lower end of the spectrum at 14 percent and 9 percent, respectively.

"Previous research has shown that exposure to substance use messages in media is linked to actual substance use in adolescents," said Dr. Brian APrimack, lead researcher on the study. "That is why we need to be aware of exposures such as these, especially when they are associated with highly positive consequences and associations."

Alcohol and marijuana were the substances most frequently portrayed. Substance use was commonly associated with partying, sex, violence and/or humor, and was most often motivated by peer pressure, social pressure, sex, and/or money, for instance, through trafficking.

Not surprisingly, the majority of songs with substance use portrayed more positive than negative consequences of use.

And with children and teens listening to more than 12 hours of music a week, on average, these messages of substance abuse are blaring at them at a high rate. Experts suggest that parents should monitor their children's music choices just as they would television or movie selections.

This story is provided by State Point Media.