Popular music plays a significant role in the lives of most adolescents. The central question explored is whether three groups of adolescents (psychiatrically ill, depressed, and non-clinical adolescents) differed on self-reported data on: (a) the role of popular music in their lives, and (b) in their emotional reactions to music. The next question is whether the developmental issues of gender and personality consolidation, age, and school commitment simultaneously influence how the three groups of adolescents use music in their lives and in their emotional reactions to music. The last question is whether the three groups have significantly different music preferences in the five genres of popular (rap, pop/dance, heavy metal/hard rock, classic rock, and alternative). There were 126 subjects employed in this research. I created the Walker Music Questionnaire (WMQ) to explore the role and importance that music plays in the lives of the adolescents. A factor analysis found five factors (Introspection, Identity-Music, Discerning Music Identity, Fantasy-Rebellion, and Identity-Self). The Adolescent Semantic Differential Scales (ASDS) measured the adolescents’ emotional responses to 10 pieces of popular music representing the five genres described above. These scales are well known measures of emotional response and I added eight adjectives that represented adolescent issues. This measure was also factor analyzed and the three factors of Evaluation, Romance, and Potency emerged. Preference for the five genres was determined from the Adolescent Semantic Differential Scales. MANOVAS were done with both sets of factors derived from the WMQ and ASDS simultaneously using the developmental variables of age group, gender, personality, and school commitment. Psychological health was found to be a significant variable. Specifically, the role of music for the depressed group was significantly different from the other two groups of adolescents. The developmental issues that remained significant were personality and school commitment. Furthermore, the psychiatrically ill group reacted more emotionally to the music than the other two groups and this remained significant even when the developmental variable of personality was considered. The three groups were not differentiated by their preference ratings on the ASDS.

Popular music plays a significant role in the lives of most adolescents. The central question explored is whether three groups of adolescents (psychiatrically ill, depressed, and non-clinical adolescents) differed on self-reported data on: (a) the role of popular music in their lives, and (b) in their emotional reactions to music. The next question is whether the developmental issues of gender and personality consolidation, age, and school commitment simultaneously influence how the three groups of adolescents use music in their lives and in their emotional reactions to music. The last question is whether the three groups have significantly different music preferences in the five genres of popular (rap, pop/dance, heavy metal/hard rock, classic rock, and alternative). There were 126 subjects employed in this research. I created the Walker Music Questionnaire (WMQ) to explore the role and importance that music plays in the lives of the adolescents. A factor analysis found five factors (Introspection, Identity-Music, Discerning Music Identity, Fantasy-Rebellion, and Identity-Self). The Adolescent Semantic Differential Scales (ASDS) measured the adolescents’ emotional responses to 10 pieces of popular music representing the five genres described above. These scales are well known measures of emotional response and I added eight adjectives that represented adolescent issues. This measure was also factor analyzed and the three factors of Evaluation, Romance, and Potency emerged. Preference for the five genres was determined from the Adolescent Semantic Differential Scales. MANOVAS were done with both sets of factors derived from the WMQ and ASDS simultaneously using the developmental variables of age group, gender, personality, and school commitment. Psychological health was found to be a significant variable. Specifically, the role of music for the depressed group was significantly different from the other two groups of adolescents. The developmental issues that remained significant were personality and school commitment. Furthermore, the psychiatrically ill group reacted more emotionally to the music than the other two groups and this remained significant even when the developmental variable of personality was considered. The three groups were not differentiated by their preference ratings on the ASDS.

La littérature en méthodologie pointe un important problème lié à l’utilisation des différentiels sémantiques pour mesurer les évaluations globales des individus. Au centre de ces continua bipolaires opposant une paire d’adjectifs antagonistes, sont en effet agrégées de manière artificielle et fâcheuse deux types d’évaluations : les réactions indifférentes et les réactions ambivalentes. Or, la distinction entre ces deux types d’évaluation est un enjeu dans la mesure où elles recouvrent des réalités différentes. En effet, l’indifférence correspond à l’absence de réaction positive ou négative, tandis que l’ambivalence décrit une évaluation composée à la fois de réactions positives et négatives. Cette recherche démontre l’intérêt d’utiliser un nouvel outil de mesure issu de recherches en psychologie, l’Evaluative Space Grid (Larsen & al., 2009), pour saisir la part d’ambivalence contenue dans les évaluations globales de consommateurs. A l’aide d’un design mixte comportant cinq études empiriques, nous montrons que l’Evaluative Space Grid présente des propriétés psychométriques aussi bonnes que le différentiel sémantique tout en permettant de différencier les réactions indifférentes des réactions ambivalentes, ce que ne peut pas faire un différentiel sémantique. Ce travail de recherche constitue donc une contribution méthodologique importante qui devrait intéresser chercheurs et praticiens. / Literature on methodology reveals a serious problem related to the use of semantic differential scales to measure individuals’ global evaluations. Two types of evaluations are incorporated—in an artificial and unsuitable way—into these bipolar continuums that contain two opposing adjectives: indifferent reactions and ambivalent reactions. The distinction between these two types of evaluation is significant because they reflect different realities. While indifference corresponds to an absence of positive or negative reactions, an ambivalent evaluation is composed of both positive and negative reactions. This research demonstrates the advantages of using a new measurement tool, the Evaluative Space Grid (Larsen & al., 2009), developed in psychology research; this tool is able to capture the ambivalent component in consumers’ global evaluations. Using a mixed design method comprising five empirical studies, we demonstrate that the Evaluative Space Grid has psychometric properties that match those of semantic differential scales; however, in contrast to semantic differential scales, the ESG is capable of differentiating between indifferent reactions and ambivalent reactions. This research therefore constitutes a major methodological contribution that will be of interest to both researchers and practitioners.