Young people who read for fun have better verbal abilities: study

Researchers have found that young adults who enjoy reading fiction and identify as readers have better verbal abilities. A study out of Concordia University in Montreal found that those who read due to outside pressures and had a stronger association with non fiction had weaker verbal abilities. 

The researchers note that while reading “is associated with several important educational and cognitive benefits,” increasingly fewer young adults read in their spare time. They sought to study what drives leisure reading in undergraduates and developed a scale which examined reading motivations, obstacles, attitudes and interests. They used the scale to rate 200 undergraduate volunteers. They then were given languages tests similar to those found in the standard SAT tests and a measure of reading habits called the Author Recognition Test.

Assigned reading does not appear to have the same benefits as does reading for fun. (iStock)

Teachers, parents advised: impose ‘no guilt, no shame’

The results led researchers to conclude that emphasizing fun can draw young adults back to reading novels and at the same time boost their verbal abilities.

“It’s always very positive and heartening to give people permission to delve into the series that they like,” said Sandra Martin-Chang, a professor of education and co-author of the study. “I liken it to research that says chocolate is good for you: the guilty pleasure of reading fiction is associated with positive cognitive benefits and verbal outcomes.”

 The researchers noted that early adulthood is a time when reading becomes self-directed as opposed to being imposed by others, and is a pivotal time for developing reading habits. They add that “teachers and parents can nurture a love of reading by letting young people read what they want, without guilt or shame.”

The study was published in the journal Reading and Writing.