University Honors

Alternative subcultures are characterized by being outside mainstream society, with membershaving similar music preferences, appearances, and values. The goal of this study was tounderstand the experiences of emerging adults who identify with alternative subcultures (e.g.,goth, emo, punk, etc). The sample included 83 participants from three groups: 1) self-identifiedalternative social media users, 2) self-identified alternative undergraduate students, and 3)undergraduate students who did not identify with alternative subcultures. Participants completedan online survey containing open-ended questions about subcultural identity and mental healthmeasures for depressive and anxious symptoms, positive affect, and negative affect. Resultsrevealed higher levels of depressive symptoms in both alternative groups compared to thenon-alternative group, and higher levels of negative affect in the social media alternative groupcompared to the non-alternative group. There were no significant group differences for levels ofanxious symptoms or positive affect. Qualitative findings revealed that self-expression andauthenticity are subcultural values and that distinct music taste and appearance are indicators ofsubcultural identity. Although friends and family often introduce today’s emerging adults tosubcultures, they mainly learn about the pressing issues within the alternative communitythrough social media. This topic remains widely unexplored, and future studies should examinewhy today’s self-identified alternative emerging adults may report higher levels of depressivesymptoms and negative affect. One possible reason is that society continues to hold mostlynegative perceptions of subcultures. This research is important for providing services to promotewell-being for individuals who identify with alternative subcultures.