Childhood patterns of music uses and preferences

In order to track children's preferences in popular music orientation, 175 first through sixth grade children were interviewed concerning their access to music equipment and recordings, frequency of listening, music preferences and gratifications, and the social context of music listening. For analysis, the age groups were collapsed into three pairs consisting of first and second (early elementary school), third and fourth (middle), and fifth and sixth (late) grades. In general, the results confirm that the gravitation toward pop or rock music usually associated with early adolescence, in fact, begins much earlier.

Notes

Peter Christenson is in the Department of Communication at Lewis and Clark College, Portland, OR 97219.