One of the things I noticed in the teen groups at BMC and RCH, as well as the acute wards all the way from Indio to Riverside was an inordinate # of goth (a member of a subculture given to piercings, black clothing, died black hair, nihilistic intellectualism, anti-cultural comic books and very “dark” music) females typically ranging in age from 14 to about 25. Moreover, a high percentage of them were suffering from either sz or substance-induced psychosis.
"…self-identification as a goth is prospectively associated with emergence of clinical depression and self-harm in early adulthood. . . .
“Young people who self-identified as goths were more likely to be girls (contrasting with the findings from the original Young and colleagues’ study sample in Glasgow in which they were more likely to be boys), to have mothers with a history of depression, to have a history of emotional issues, including depression themselves, and to report issues with peers, including being bullied. Such vulnerability factors for depression suggest a degree of self-selection, with young people more susceptible to depression and self-harm being more likely to be attracted to the goth subculture. Yet, even after adjustment for these early risk factors, young people who self-identified as goths remained at an increased risk of depression and self-harm compared with those who did not identify with the subculture.”
Girl in my class the first day had me drawn in with her gothic-y look, but second class i realized she was just a normie like the rest of them. Kind of turned me off
That fits my experience. (And they are very often Level Three and Four BPD, meaning very self-harming, suicidal, hyper-dramatic, emotionally hyper-labile to the point of being bipolar, self-destructive substance abusers, sexual doormats, etc. Sigh.)
Actually, quite a few Goths have nothing wrong with them. I am a part of the subculture and I have seen many goths who are perfectly healthy, mentally, emotionally and physically.