Fereshteh Ahmadi Lewin

I artikeln ”aggressiv musik och coping” diskuteras aggressiv musik (heavy metal, hårdrock, punkrock, hård rap och aggressiv popmusik) som copingstrategi vid den rollkonflikt som kan uppstå i samband med att någon drabbas av cancer. Detta eftersom den sjukroll som tenderar att tillskrivas individen i många fall strider mot den roll personen själv önskar inneha. Diskussionen förs utifrån två fallbeskrivningar hämtade från en studie som fokuserar på musikens roll för personer som drabbats av cancer. I analysen av de två fallbeskrivningarna framgår att aggressiv musik har fungerat som en copingmetod genom att hjälpa informanterna att hantera den ovan nämnda rollkonflikten. Emellertid visade analysen på att ålder kan vara en aspekt av betydelse beträffande vid vilken tidpunkt som ett motstånd gentemot sjukrollen växer fram och en konflikt mellan rollerna uppstår. Det är viktigt att se att en copingstrategi är en mötesplats mellan individ och situation. Den är komplex, mångbottnad och högst kontextuell. Diskussionen i denna artikel, vilken förs utifrån detta synsätt, visar på att aggressiv musik, som ofta förknippas med aggressivitet och våld, kan verka som en funktionell och högst användbar copingstrategi för unga personer som drabbas av cancer.In the present article, we have discussed the role of aggressive music (heavy metal, hard rock, punk rock, hard rap and aggressive pop music) as a coping method, especially for young people who face a role conflict when they are struck by cancer. Here, the concept of role conflict concerns a situation in which the sick roll ascribed to the individual conflicts with the role she/he wishes to play. Our discussion is based on two case reports taken from a larger study focusing on the role of music as a coping method. Analysis of our two cases reveals that aggressive music has played the role of a coping method by helping the informants deal with their roll conflicts. Moreover, the analysis shows that “age” can be a factor that impacts the time course of resistance against the ascribed sick role and the culmination of the role conflict. It is important to consider that coping involves an encounter between an individual and a situation; coping is multidimensional, multilayered and contextual. Our discussion, which is based on such an understanding of coping, shows that aggressive music, which is often related to aggressiveness and violence, can possibly be regarded as a functional and highly useable coping method.

Within the framework of an international research project aimed at studying the impact of different cultural settings on gerotranscendent development, six groups of older people distinguished by religiosity and cultural origin were studied. A life history approach, followed by thematic semi-structured interviews, was applied. One of the objectives was to inquire about the possible impact of religion, conceived of as a cultural setting, on development towards gerotranscendence. The findings of this inquiry gave rise to two hypotheses as to the relationship between gerotranscendence and religiosity. The first hypothesis is that the internalisation of mystical-type ideas in individuals' ways of thinking is probably a factor involved in the development of a gerotranscendent view of life. In other words, whether individuals practice their ‘religion’ in a spiritual, nonorganisational way, or in an organisational way, may play a role for development towards gerotranscendence. The second hypothesis is that certain characteristics, such as the secular and individualistic features of modern societies, may delay development towards gerotranscendence.