Understanding death, suicide and self-injury among adherents of the emo youth subculture: A qualitative study.

Emo youth subculture bases its subcultural identification mostly on symbols of death, dying, suicide, and other kinds of morbid content. The main goal of the present study was to explore attitudes toward suicidal behavior and self-injury in emo adolescents. Semistructured in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 14 emo adherents, accompanied by the analysis of emo Web discussion forums. Participants reported attitudes including high acceptance for suicidal behavior and self-injury. The identification with the emo youth subculture is considered to be a factor strengthening vulnerability towards risky behaviors.