An Investigation into the Reading Interests of Children

Abstract

MANY QUESTIONS have arisen as to the effect which certain kinds of reading materials have upon children. The reading of comic books, for example, has been of great concern to educators as well as to par ents. The blood and thunder type of comic has been criticized by var ious sources as a very important causal factor in juvenile delinquency. However, great doubt exists in professional circles that the etiology of delinquency can so simply be* found. 1 I n r e viewing recent lit e r a t ure regarding this topic, one is led to believe that more research is needed to determine just what role the reading of children plays in their behav ior patterns. Fiction, even by people not in the field of psychology, has frequently been considered as a type of fantasy. In this type of reading the individ ual is supposed, throws himself into the action presented, and i de nti fies himself with one or more of the characters portrayed. Through reading the individual may shake loose the bonds of reality and do things which he has been prevented from doing, either by inhibiting forces in the environment or by inhibition arising from within himself.