Adolescent music engagement is associated with less alcohol consumption and substance experimentation 5-11 years...

Adolescence is a critical developmental window for shaping substance use trajectories. Music engagement during this period may reduce substance experimentation and later misuse through direct effects or shared etiological influences, and these associations may differ by genetic risk.

Using a genetically informed, longitudinal design, we analyzed associations between music engagement at Age 12 and substance use outcomes at Ages 17 and 23 in the Colorado Longitudinal Twin sample (413 same-sex twin pairs; 50% female; 91.9% White; 9.1% Hispanic). Music engagement and substance use were assessed using questionnaires developed for this study. Twin modeling was used to disentangle causal from etiological influences, and polygenic scores were used to test whether associations are strongest for those at highest genetic risk.

Music engagement was associated with less alcohol use and substance experimentation across adolescence and young adulthood (r = -0.105 to -0.099, p < .05). These associations were primarily attributable to shared environmental factors (rC = -0.56 to -0.41, p < .05), with some genetic overlap estimated in the opposite direction (rA = 0.55-0.61, p < .05). Sensation seeking polygenic scores predicted music engagement (b = 0.123, p = .006), but gene-environment interactions were nonsignificant.

Music engagement is associated with reduced substance use in adolescence and young adulthood, driven by protective shared environmental influences rather than direct effects. Music engagement may represent a constructive environmental outlet for youth, underscoring the importance of genetically informed research. However, the results may not generalize to more contemporary and/or diverse cohorts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).