Preeminence of psychopathological over other medical references in names of Spanish Punk groups (1981-2010)

Introduction The relevance of the study of the social representations of mental disorders in the products of the popular culture has been argued previously. In a subcultural level, we hypothesize that the psychiatric field could be more present than other areas of the Medicine. Regarding the studies of the popular music, and taking in account subcultural aspects of identity affirmation, this communication addresses the references to Psychiatry and mental disorders and its comparison with other medical references in names of Punk groups (Spain, 1981-2010). Objectives To address the relative importance of psychiatric disorders versus other medical problems (non psychiatric) in a subcultural musical genre. Methods Quantitative content analysis. Results The names of 418 Spanish Punk groups were analyzed. 16.50% of them were associated with the Psychiatry and mental disorders versus a 5.98% for other medical references. Most of psychiatric names were associated with substance use and psychotic disorders (50.72% and 15.94%, respectively). Regarding "non psychiatric names", references to medical treatments (16%), infectious diseases (16%), and genital diseases (16%) were the most frequent. Conclusions Psychiatric disorders are more frequent than other medical references in the names of Spanish Punk groups. It can be related to subcultural identity processes in which mental disorders work as an expression of otherness. Despite of the existence of highly dramatic medical diseases (e.g., cancer), mental disorders remain the main focus of attention if we attend to the artistic interest expressed in our sample. For comparisons with other music genres more studies are warranted.