Abstract: There have been many studies that have found a connection between music and personality (Knowles, 2013), as well as a few related to the strength of music preference itself. This paper examines how the strength of music preference is affected by home life during adolescence. The sample of Hampton High School students (9th to 12th grade), was given a survey to determine their strength of music preference as well as their guardians’. This study found that there is no significant correlation between the overall strength of music preference of guardians and adolescents. There was not a significant correlation between music activities done in school and how important music was to adolescents either. Although, there was a correlation between the musical activities done with family and how big of a role music played in adolescents’ lives. In general, these findings suggest that guardians do still have some influence over the role that music plays in the lives of adolescents, but they are not the only factor that influences adolescents. Understanding such influences in people’s lives can help develop government subsidized programs (i.e. in schools) to compensate for what may be lacking in the family home. Further research could also investigate if diversifying music programs and adding more variety would increase adolescents' interest in music. Future studies showing that musical activities in the home can affect how important music is for adolescents could also help drive improved access to the musical arts in childhood.

Keywords: Music, Strength of Music Preference, Adolescence, Influence