ArticleSocial science & medicine (1982)2020
Longitudinal associations between reading for pleasure and child maladjustment: Results from a propensity score matching analysis.
Article in Social science & medicine (1982), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
What it found
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- A counterfactual and random intercept cross-lagged panel analysis of the effects of reading frequency on adolescent mental health in a large longitudinal study.JCPP advances · 2026Article
- Article
- Causal Relationships Between Screen Use, Reading, and Brain Development in Early Adolescents.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2024Article
- Adolescent leisure reading and its longitudinal association with prosocial behavior and social adjustment.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Reading about minds: The social-cognitive potential of narratives.Psychonomic bulletin & review · 2022Review
- Reading and Study Habits of Medical Students on Clerkships and Performance Outcomes: a Multi-institutional Study.Medical science educator · 2021Article
- Associations between neighbourhood deprivation and engagement in arts, culture and heritage: evidence from two nationally-representative samples.BMC public health · 2021Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
rationaleReading for pleasure has been shown to have benefits for academic attainment and the development of empathy. Yet, whether reading for pleasure is linked with other aspects of children's development remains unclear.
objectiveThis study examines the association between reading for pleasure and children's psychological and behavioural adjustment at the onset of adolescence.
methodWe analysed data from 8936 participants in the Millennium Cohort Study, Sweeps 4 (age 7) and 5 (age 11), and used propensity score matching methods to match children who read frequently with children with similar individual, social, familial, and behavioural characteristics who read less often.
resultsDaily reading for pleasure at age 7 was associated with lower levels of hyperactivity/inattention and better prosocial behaviour at age 11. These results for hyperactivity/inattention were replicated when analysing data specifically from children with a history of hyperactivity/inattention at age 7. Results also show that daily reading for pleasure was associated with lower levels of emotional problems. Results were robust to a range of sensitivity analyses.
conclusionsDaily reading for pleasure in childhood is independently associated with better behavioural adjustment at the onset of adolescence. Future studies could explore the potential benefit of interventions to encourage reading.
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