As I was watching the largest moral panic regarding goths we've seen in several years unfold across the web; I was making mental notes as to what I would say on this blog. When it comes to a breakdown of the flaws in the study, sociologist Paul Hodkinson did a better job than I could. I suggest you read his article, but here is an excerpt:

"While its indication of a prevalence significantly higher than in other groups should be taken seriously, it is worth emphasising that the study does not show that most goths are either depressed or prone to self-harm – quite the contrary. This may be an obvious point but it is sometimes awfully easy to jump from one inference to another. Furthermore, in the case of those classified in the self-harm category, the study does not differentiate between types or levels of seriousness, nor does it show the regularity of such behaviour or whether it was recent. This is because this classification was based on answers to a single question: ‘have you ever hurt yourself on purpose in any way (eg, by taking an overdose of pills or by cutting yourself)’. Without underestimating the potential significance of minor or one-off forms of self-harming behaviour, this is not, it might be argued, a particularly high threshold and, crucially, it does not tell us whether the behaviour occurred within or before the aged 15-18 period focused on by the study."

I tried to switch gears at this point, and I went on to put together some of my other thoughts. Well, The Blogging Goth beat me to the punch, and put to words most of what I wanted to express, I recommend you give him a read, here's an excerpt:

"Mainstream society is suspicious and dismissive of problems like depression, whereas Goth is more familiar, more accepting of each other’s flaws. As a result, many people suffering will find themselves drawn to a more open society that actively disputes and rebels against mainstream opinions."

Finally there's this article, which details what we all already know, that being goth in fact, makes us happier:

"Whatever it was that united us, it wasn’t depression. Anecdotal evidence is the enemy of good science, but all I can tell you is that I and my gang of flamboyant romantic dandies spent every night of the week partying like the last days of Sodom, Gomorrah and Constantinople combined. If anyone was self-harming, we didn’t know about it , and if there was any standing on the edge of the dancefloor looking lonely, that was just commonplace shyness, and nothing a cheap pint of snakebite and black couldn’t cure."

Rather than regurgitating what has already been so eloquently said, I'll instead present my responses to a writer from the Daily Beast, who reached out for some advice on the goth subreddit.