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Adolescents are a population that is particularly vulnerable to the effects of music, while depression is the most common psychopathology in this developmental period. Studying the connection between musical preferences and depression in adolescents therefore needs to be given special attention. The purpose of our study was to examine how different musical preferences are associated with depression and whether these links differ according to gender. The database collected on a sample of 272 adolescents (193 female and 79 male) was obtained using the Beck Depression Inventory - BDI II and the Short Test of Music Preferences - STOMP. On the basis of results from the research, we found that a preference for Reflective & Conventional music styles was connected negatively to depression, while a preference for the Rebellious music style is positively connected to depression. The important value of our research consists in our having tested the Slovene version of STOMP. The results show that STOMP’s validity is questionable.

The aim of this study was to explore the differences in musical preferences between Slovene and Croatian students. The sample consisted of 369 students from Slovenia and 371 students from Croatia. The results show that there are significant differences in musical preferences between Slovene and Croatian students. Furthermore, differences with regard to gender, age and study program were confirmed.

The aim of our study was to explore musical preferences in preschool children and also to shed light on parental influence. Quantitative study was conducted on 250 five- and six-year olds, 118 boys and 132 girls In the second part, we performed qualitative study on 15 children and their parents. Participants evaluated 10 one minute long musical excerpts and in qualitative study also reported reasons for (dis)liking. The results reveal that preschool children appreciate most of the musical styles, among which they like children song sung by a child the most. Parental influence was confirmed in qualitative part.