Print and digital reading habits and comprehension in children with and without special education needs.

BACKGROUND: Text comprehension is a major obstacle for many Primary school students with special education needs (SEN). Reading episodes bring students opportunities to be exposed to new vocabulary and knowledge, potentially boosting their development of text comprehension skills. AIMS: Our study seeks to understand how reading frequency (leisure and academic) and reading medium (print and digital) contribute to the development of text comprehension during Primary school in students with and without SEN. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: We tested 2289 Spanish students from fourth to sixth grade, from which 212 had an official decision of SEN. Students self-reported their reading frequency (as a measure of their reading habits) and completed a standardized text comprehension test. We employed multiple regression models with a robust maximum likelihood estimator to test associations between reading frequency and comprehension. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Students' comprehension was positively associated with their leisure print reading habits, and negatively associated with their frequency of academic digital reading. Those associations were independent of SEN status. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Results highlight the importance of promoting leisure reading in print to all students, regardless of SEN status. In addition, caution is advised when encouraging Primary school children to use digital texts when the emphasis is on comprehending texts for acquiring knowledge.

The Impact of COVID-19 Confinement on Reading Behavior.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic was detrimental to lifestyle and behavior. In this investigation, changes in reading habits during the pandemic were examined. Methods: The study is cross-sectional and survey-based. 1844 individuals completed an online survey about sociodemographic and reading habits during COVID-19. Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between the study variables. Results: Most of the participants were active readers (71.5%-83.2%). Fewer (13.8-18.0%) reported a decrease in reading, while about half reported a no change, and 1/3rd reported an increase. Changes in reading habits were related to age, education, job type, and income. Conclusion: About half of the participants during the pandemic reported a change in reading habits. Interventions to further enhance reading among people during the pandemic might help ameliorate the negative impacts of the pandemic.

Relationships among students' reading habits, study skills, and academic achievement in English at the secondary level.

Introduction: Reading is an attempt to comprehend the writer's message for personal growth and success in the relevant fields. Thus, psychologists consider it a multifaceted cognitive process of constructing meanings from texts. The present study was conducted to determine the relationships among students' reading habits, study skills, and academic achievement in English at the secondary level in Punjab, Pakistan. Methods: The (n = 1614) students enrolled in the science section for the academic year 2019-2020 participated in this descriptive correlational survey, selected from 40 high schools in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, through a non-proportionate stratified random sampling technique. The Reading Habits Questionnaire (RHQ) and the Study Skills Scale (SSS) were used to collect data about students' reading habits and study skills. At the same time, academic achievement was the students' grades obtained in the ninth class in the subject of English that were determined by the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Lahore in 2019. Students' responses were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The results indicated that students have competent reading habits and study skills. The correlational findings showed a strong positive relationship among reading habits, study skills, and academic achievement in English, while moderate positive relationships between reading habits and academic achievement in English. However, regression analysis results were significant, while reading habits and study skills moderately predicted academic achievement. Discussion: It is implicated that teachers should plan such assignments and tasks based on reflective thinking by considering the role of study skills in academic achievement. Moreover, teachers and school administrators could mutually create timetables for library lessons to build reading habits and study skills among learners.

Emotions and reading: When reading is the best way to improve skills in adolescents.

In recent years much research on reading competence in different languages has been published in parallel with the interest generated by the results of the PISA and PIRLS reports which were disseminated in the media and which have subsequently garnered the attention of public authorities. Studies that relate reading competence with emotional intelligence, however, are less frequent. This study aims to deepen the relationship between both constructs, using a quasi-experimental longitudinal approach that observes the evolution of 389 high school students in Spain from 16 to 18 years old. Evidence of a direct relationship between reading competence and emotional intelligence was obtained, particularly in the experimental group in which reading habits were stimulated.

Testing the validity of a self-report scale, author recognition test, and book counting as measures of lifetime exposure to print fiction.

We report a study testing the validity of the three most commonly used indicators of lifetime exposure to print fiction, namely a self-report scale, an author recognition test (ART), and book counting, in a sample of older adults (N=306; Mage = 59.29 years, SDage = 7.01). Convergent validity of the self-report scale and book counting was assessed through correlations with the fiction sub-score of the ART; divergent validity of these two indicators was examined via correlations with the non-fiction sub-score of that ART. We also assessed criterion-related validity by testing the degree to which each of the three indicators predicted participants' performance in a vocabulary test. The self-report scale and book counting were significantly more positively associated with the ART fiction sub-score than the ART non-fiction sub-score. Regression analyses, controlling for gender and non-fiction exposure, revealed that the ART fiction sub-score had the highest explanatory power among all indicators under investigation for predicting vocabulary test performance. The present results suggest that only ARTs may have satisfactory levels of both construct and criterion-related validity. Recommendations for the assessment of fiction exposure and future directions are discussed.

Does the frequency of reading and writing habits contribute to executive functions, intelligence, and learning in adolescents with healthy development?

The influence of the frequency of reading and writing habits (FRWH) on cognition has been investigated by several studies in the literature. However, the implications of FRWH on executive development, intelligence, and academic achievement are not yet clear in adolescents with healthy development. The aim was to verify whether there are differences in executive functions, intelligence, and academic achievement between adolescents with high and low FRWH. Moreover, we aimed to investigate if there are differences in the parental FRWH between adolescents with high and low FRWH. The sample was composed of 47 healthy adolescents, n = 24 with high FRWH and n = 23 with low FRWH. Adolescents with higher FRWH had better performance on measures of vocabulary, Speech Act analysis, and Oral Narrative Discourse. Therefore, a high FRWH has a positive influence on the cognitive development of healthy adolescents, especially with regard to pragmatic language. However, adolescents with low FRWH performed better than those with a high FRWH on an automatic counting task. The interpretation of cognitive performance and academic achievement scores in neuropsychological assessment should consider the FRWH of parents and adolescents. This factor should be targeted by early stimulation interventions to help adolescents achieve the highest possible levels of global development.

Empirical approach to the gender gap in students' reading consumption in international contexts.

Reading is a very important aspect today, which is why it is a recurring topic in research. This study aims to analyze the gender gap in the reading consumption of adolescents and compare the situation in Spain with that of other countries. It addresses, for the first time, the influence of the gender factor on the reading habits of adolescents who have just begun secondary education. This is an empirical study carried out based on the research projects "Determining factors in the reading habits of secondary education students. A study from the variables of the educational context" and "Reading habits in international contexts of Secondary Education students. A study of educational practices to promote reading." It is based on the hypothesis that reading consumption is conditioned by gender and country-specific educational policies and, therefore, by the place where the study is carried out. To do this, an international sample of students was taken as a reference, made up of a matrix group of Spanish students contrasted with small samples from three different countries that we are interested in comparing with the Spanish context: Portugal, Poland, and Chile. The results have shown that the gender gap in reading is perceived in all the contexts studied and that it increases in contexts with less developed co-education programs; therefore, it is necessary to implement effective policies in the educational field to eliminate the existence of gender stereotypes.

Effect and mechanism of reading habits on physical and mental health among the elderly: Evidence from China.

Responding to an aging society worldwide and ensuring the physical and mental health of the elderly are important problems that need to be addressed. Thus, this study aimed to improve the quality of providing the spiritual and cultural needs of the elderly and study the internal transmission of reading habits and its effect on the physical and mental health of the elderly. Using the data from China's comprehensive social survey in 2018, this study applied the Probit model and ordinary least squares method to comprehensively estimate the influence of reading habits of the elderly on their physical and mental health. Stepwise regression and bootstrap method were combined to explore the influencing mechanism, and an instrumental variable method was used to solve endogeneity problems. Results indicate that the reading habits of the elderly have a significantly positive effect on their own physical and mental health. Social activity is the positive conduction path, whereas social justice perception and learning willingness are the negative conduction path. Among low-income families, agricultural workers, and the elderly whose household registration is in rural areas, the benefits of reading to the body and mind are more significant. After dealing with endogeneity problems and a series of robustness tests, the conclusion of this paper still holds. Finally, reference policy suggestions are proposed for the follow-up active aging policy, such as promoting reading for all, organizing various social activities, formulating active pension policies for the elderly, and allocating more public resources for vulnerable elderly groups.

Reading habits of medical practitioners: Young doctors in Pakistan, a case study.

Objective: This study attempted to investigate the reading preferences and habits among young Pakistani medical doctors. The reading time, preferred source of information, preferred medical journals, and ways of reading medical journals were explored. Methods: A survey approach was used for data collection. The study participants were young medical professionals in Pakistan. An online survey was sent to more than 300 individuals through various physicians and their professional groups/bodies. A total of 155 responded to the questionnaire, and 128 of the questionnaires were considered worthy of data analysis. Results: Among respondents, 40% read printed journals, 49% read online journals, 60% read case reports, and 55% read newspapers for 1-5 h per week. Continuing medical education was the preferred source of information, and the Pakistan Journal of Cardiology & Thoracic Surgery was the preferred medical journal. Reading the abstract and the conclusion was the preferred way of reading journal articles. Conclusion: Young physicians are enthusiastic in participating in research activities and spending time gaining updated information. Physicians read articles methodically. Online sources of information are preferred over printed sources.

Outdoor exposure in children from Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate myopia risk factors, mainly outdoor exposure and reading habits, in a country with low prevalence of myopia (Buenos Aires Province, Argentina). METHODS: Consecutive children interviewed in a clinical private practice setting were autorefracted under cycloplegia with cyclopentolate 1%. Their parents consented to fill a questionnaire about schooling, tutorial classes, outdoor exposure, reading habits, and cellphone use, both on weekdays and weekends. The Spanish questionnaire was based on past English questionnaires of myopia clinical trials. The spherical equivalent of the right eye was used for the refractive distribution. The average daily hours spent for each activity were calculated. RESULTS: This study involved 115 children aged 10.48 ±â€¯3.65 years (range 5-18 years), with 56.5% being girls. Children had 8 h of schooling per day in 62.6% of cases, and only 14.8 % had tutorial classes after school. There were 38.3% myopes (<-0.50 D), 24.3% hyperopes (>+2.00 D) and the rest were emmetropes. The mean time that these children spent outdoors per day was 3.94 ±â€¯1.45 h (27.60 ±â€¯10.16 h per week). The total mean time spent reading and writing per day was 1.50 ±â€¯0.98 h, and that spent using cellphones and tablets was 2.43 ±â€¯1.66 h. CONCLUSION: In an environment with low myopia prevalence, children spend almoast 4 h per day outdoors, much more than the usual recommendation of 2 h a day for myopia prevention.

Exposición al aire libre en niños de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina / Outdoor exposure in children from Buenos Aires Province, Argentina

Objetivos Evaluar los factores de riesgo de la miopía, principalmente la exposición al aire libre y los hábitos de lectura, en una región con baja prevalencia de miopía (Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina). étodos Los niños entrevistados consecutivamente entre febrero y marzo de 2020 fueron refraccionados bajo cicloplejía con ciclopentolato al 1%. Sus padres consintieron llenar un cuestionario sobre escolaridad, clases extracurriculares, exposición al aire libre, hábitos de lectura y uso del teléfono móvil, tanto entre semana como los fines de semana. Se utilizó el equivalente esférico del ojo derecho para la distribución refractiva. Se calculó el promedio de horas diarias dedicadas a cada actividad. Resultados En este estudio participaron 115 niños de 10,48±3,65 años y el 56,5% eran niñas. Los niños tenían 8h de escolaridad al día en el 62,6% de los casos y solo el 14,8% tenía clases de extracurriculares después de la escuela. Había 38,3% miopes (<−0,50 D), el 24,3% hipermétropes (>+2,00 D) y el resto eran emétropes. El tiempo medio pasado al aire libre por día fue de 3,94±1,45h (27,60±10,16h por semana). El tiempo medio total dedicado a la lectura y a la escritura por día fue de 1,50±0,98h, y el de uso de teléfonos móviles y tabletas fue de 2,43±1,66h. Conclusión En un entorno con baja prevalencia de miopía, los niños pasan al menos 4h diarias al aire libre, mucho más que la recomendación habitual de 2h diarias para la prevención de la miopía (AU)

Objectives To evaluate myopia risk factors, mainly outdoor exposure and reading habits, in a country with low prevalence of myopia (Buenos Aires Province, Argentina). Methods Consecutive children interviewed in a clinical private practice setting were autorefracted under cycloplegia with cyclopentolate 1%. Their parents consented to fill a questionnaire about schooling, tutorial classes, outdoor exposure, reading habits, and cellphone use, both on weekdays and weekends. The Spanish questionnaire was based on past English questionnaires of myopia clinical trials. The spherical equivalent of the right eye was used for the refractive distribution. The average daily hours spent for each activity were calculated. Result This study involved 115 children aged 10.48±3.65 years (range 5 to 18 years), with 56.5% being girls. Children had 8h of schooling per day in 62.6% of cases, and only 14.8% had tutorial classes after school. There were 38.3% myopes (<−0.50 D), 24.3% hyperopes (>+2.00 D) and the rest were emmetropes. The mean time that these children spent outdoors per day was 3.94±1.45 hs. (27.60±10.16 hs. per week). The total mean time spent reading and writing per day was 1.50±0.98h, and that spent using cellphones and tablets was 2.43±1.66h. Conclusion In an environment with low myopia prevalence, children spend almoast 4hours per day outdoors, much more than the usual recommendation of 2hours a day for myopia prevention (AU)

Progressive Adolescent Idiopathic Cervical Kyphosis Secondary to Constant Postural Neck Flexion Reading Habit with a 10-year Follow-up: Case Report and Literature Review.

BACKGROUND: Although it has been established that adolescent idiopathic cervical kyphosis (AICK) has no known cause, there are associated risk factors. However, the underlying causes remain puzzling. This case report presents severe AICK linked to chronic neck flexion postural habit, treated with combined anterior and posterior correction surgery and review of the literature. CASE PRESENTATION: A 16-year-old male with no history of trauma, surgery, or family history of spinal deformity complained of intolerable neck pain and rigidity. He developed an incessant reading of comic books at a very young age, and he preferred placing the book on the floor with his head flexed between his thighs. Acupuncture and massage therapy failed to relief symptoms. He had no neurological symptoms on examination and X-ray showed Cobb angle of 70.5°. MRI and CT scans showed no spinal cord compression or osteophyte formation. A combined anterior and posterior correction surgery was performed after a week of skull traction. The deformity was corrected, neck pain disappeared, and neck rotatory function maintained after posterior implant removal. The maximum follow-up was 10 years. CONCLUSIONS: The potential underlying risk factor observed in this case is unusual. Chronic neck flexion postural habit is a potential risk factor of severe AICK in some individuals.

Negative emotional symptoms during COVID19 confinement: The relationship with reading habits.

Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID19) is an ongoing pandemic, which forced governments across the globe to implement confinement measures to limit the spread of the disease. These measures have impacted the daily life and psychological status of people. However, no studies have examined the relationship between changes in psychological status with reading habits during the COVID19 pandemic. Objectives: The study aims at examining the relationship between changes in reading habits and negative emotional states. Method: The psychological status was measured using the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scales (DASS). In addition, the participants reported changes in four types of reading experiences during COVID19 confinement. These reading types are specialized, general knowledge, story/novels, and religious material. An internet-based survey was used to collect the data among adults. Results: A total of 1711 individuals participated in the study. About 60.0%, 55.1%, 60.5% and 61.0% reported participating in scientific, religious, general, and novel reading, respectively. Additionally, the ANOVA revealed differences (p < 0.05) in DASS scores according to the changes in scientific, religious, newspaper, and novel/story reading. Subgroup post hoc comparisons showed that DASS scores were associated with a no-change or increase in all types of reading habits indicating a main effect of emotional state on all types of reading. Conclusions: Current results might suggest that the participants who experienced greater negative emotions, tended to either not change or increase their reading habits. Additionally, individuals with lower negative emotion scores reported a decrease in reading during the COVID19 pandemic.

Views on Reading and Research Habits of Veterinary Medicine Students in Turkey.

Reading and research habits, together with individual and social development, some of the most important criteria of a qualified life in our age, are among the characteristics university students are expected to have. As in every profession, veterinary professional development is possible with individual development by continuous studying and researching professional topics starting in students' graduate years. This research provides perspectives from the veterinary students of six faculties in Turkey on reading and research interests. The researchers developed a 39-item questionnaire-type instrument, which was given to 1,359 students studying at Ankara, Aydin, Burdur, Samsun, Erzurum, and Bursa in Turkey; data were analyzed using statistical tests. The number of books veterinary students read in a year did not exceed five by 34% of respondents. Only 22.3% read more than 11 books. Students were most likely to read novels (26.1%) and least likely to read religious books (0.5%). We also found that more than half the students were willing to join the scientific research community (56.3%) and become research assistants (57.8%). The researchers found a positive increase in students' views on reading and research interests as grade level increased, in favor of female and urban-based participants. In conclusion, the authors recommend that students be encouraged to do research, given assignments for researching various scientific topics, and provided environments to gain lifelong learning skills. Individuals who prefer reading and research will likely contribute to their personal and professional development and to their country in general.

An analysis of the reading habits of autistic adults compared to neurotypical adults and implications for future interventions.

BACKGROUND: While research has consistently highlighted the usefulness of narrative texts for social development, this has not been fully explored with autistic adults. It has long been assumed that autistic individuals lack the social understanding to contemplate fiction, preferring non-fiction. This study aimed to explore the self-reported reading habits of autistic adults compared to neurotypical adults, accounting for higher education demands. METHODS: A qualitative design was used, with 43 participants (22 autistic; 21 neurotypical) completing a reading habits questionnaire and subsequent semi-structured interview. RESULTS: Neurotypical participants tended to prefer fiction, with autistic participants showing no preference between fiction and non-fiction. Four themes were identified from interview data (1) reading material choices; (2) text investment; (3) in-text social understanding; and (4) reading as a social learning device. Both groups reported evidence of empathising, perspective-taking and social understanding while reading. The autistic group additionally reported social learning outcomes from reading. DISCUSSION: Findings contradict prior assumptions that autistic individuals lack the social understanding required by fiction. Instead, findings show that social benefits of narrative texts extend to autistic readers, providing important social learning experiences.

The Influence of Language on Spatial Reasoning: Reading Habits Modulate the Formulation of Conclusions and the Integration of Premises.

In the present study, we explore how reading habits (e.g., reading from left to right in French or reading from right to left in Arabic) influence the scanning and the construction of mental models in spatial reasoning. For instance, when participants are given a problem like A is to the left of B; B is to the left of C, what is the relation between A and C? They are assumed to construct the model: A B C. If reading habits influence the scanning process, then readers of French should inspect models from left to right, whereas readers of Arabic should inspect them from right to left. The prediction following this analysis is that readers of French should be more inclined to produce "left" conclusions (i.e., A is to the left of C), whereas readers of Arabic should be more inclined to produce "right" conclusions (i.e., C is to the right of A). Furthermore, one may expect that readers of French show a greater ease in constructing models following a left-to-right direction than models following a right-to-left direction, whereas an opposite pattern might be expected for readers of Arabic. We tested these predictions in two experiments involving French and Yemeni participants. Experiment 1 investigated the formulation of conclusions from spatial premises, and Experiment 2, which was based on non-linguistic stimuli, examined the time required to construct mental models from left to right and from right to left. Our results show clear differences between the two groups. As expected, the French sample showed a strong left-to-right bias, but the Yemeni sample did not show the reverse bias. Results are discussed in terms of cultural influences and universal mechanisms.

Hábitos de lectura en alumnos de primer ingreso de psicología educativa de la Universidad Pedagógica Nacional (UPN), México / Reading habits in students of the first year community of educational psychology of the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional (UPN), Mexico

RESUMEN El objetivo de esta investigación fue identificar los hábitos de lectura en tres grupos de estudiantes de primer semestre de la licenciatura en Psicología Educativa de la Universidad Pedagógica Nacional Unidad Ajusco en la Ciudad de México. Este estudio tuvo un alcance descriptivo con un diseño no experimental en el que participaron 69 alumnos, de los cuales 60 fueron mujeres y 9 hombres con un promedio de edad de 20 años, cuya selección se realizó bajo un muestreo no probabilístico por la accesibilidad y la disponibilidad del docente responsable de los grupos. Para la obtención de los datos se utilizó el Cuestionario sobre Hábitos de Lectura el cual fue aplicado en el salón de clase de cada uno de los grupos programados y para el procesamiento de la información se utilizó el software Excel versión 2013. Los resultados mostraron que quienes fueron analizados en este estudio, a pesar de que leen periódicamente, no tienen el hábito; además se encontró que el libro sigue siendo la principal fuente de información tanto en el formato impreso como digital.

ABSTRACT The objective of this research was to identify reading habits in three groups of first semester students of the Bachelor in Educational Psychology of the National Pedagogical University Unit Ajusco in Mexico City. This study had a descriptive scope with a non-experimental design in which 69 students participated, of which 60 were women and 9 men with an average age of 20 years, whose selection was made under a non-probabilistic sampling for accessibility and availability of the teacher responsible for the groups. To obtain the data, the Reading Habits Questionnaire was used, which was applied in the classroom of each of the programmed groups and for the information processing the Excel 2013 version software was used. The results showed that the students analyzed in this study, although they read periodically do not have the habit, it was also found that the book is still the main source of information in both the printed and digital format.

The effects of hemispheric dominance, literacy acquisition, and handedness on the development of visuospatial attention: A study in preschoolers and second graders.

A tendency to over-attend the left side of the space (i.e., pseudoneglect) has been repeatedly reported in Western adult populations and is supposed to reflect a right hemisphere dominance in the control of visuospatial attention. This neurobiological hypothesis has been partially challenged by growing evidence showing that pseudoneglect is profoundly triggered by cultural practices such as reading and writing habits. Accordingly, more recent theoretical accounts suggest a strict coupling between nature and nurture dimensions at the origins of such bias. To further explore this possibility, here we first administered a digitized cancellation task to right-handed Western children before and after literacy acquisition. Results showed an incremental leftward shift of attention in the cancellation of the first target and an increasing preference for a left-to-right visual search from preschoolers to second graders. Yet, despite these differences, the overall distribution of visuospatial attention was biased to the left in both groups. To explore the role of handedness in visuospatial asymmetries, we also tested a group of left-handed second graders. Results showed an impact of handedness on visuospatial performance, with an accentuated rightward-oriented visual search for left-handed children, although the overall distribution of attention was again biased to the left hemispace. Taken together, these findings do not provide support to a pure neurobiological view of visuospatial biases. Rather, our study indicates that the control of visuospatial attention is mediated by a dynamic interplay among biological (i.e., right hemisphere dominance), biomechanical (i.e., hand dominance), and cultural (i.e., reading habits) factors.