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Time to read Young Adult fiction: print exposure and linguistic correlates in adolescents

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Abstract

Young Adult literature is a growing genre. This study examined print exposure within Adult fiction, and Children’s and Young Adult fiction in 90 adolescents (Mage = 16.3). Results showed that scores on an Author Recognition Test (ART) containing the names of Children’s and Young Adult fiction authors were positively correlated with adolescents’ general reading and spelling abilities and single-word reading speed. The same pattern was either weaker, or absent, with scores on an ART containing Adult authors names. Furthermore, recognizing Children’s and Young Adult authors predicted performance on the adolescents’ standardized reading and spelling measures, above and beyond recognizing adult authors. Scores on the ART containing Children’s and Young Adult authors also predicted reading speed, even after controlling for general reading and spelling abilities. These findings add to three decades of inquiry into the cognitive correlates of print exposure.

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Correspondence to Sandra Martin-Chang.

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Appendix: ART (A and CYA combined)

Appendix: ART (A and CYA combined)

Name

Category

Name

Category

V. C. Andrews

Adult

Robert Emery

Foil

Isaac Asimov

Adult

Jeffery Eugenides

Adult

Margaret Atwood

Adult

Gordan Korman

CYA

Jean M. Auel

Adult

Timothy Findley

Adult

Russell Banks

Adult

John Flanagan

CYA

David Baldacci

Adult

Robert Fulghum

Adult

Sharon Creech

CYA

Diana Gabaldon

Adult

James Dashner

CYA

Howard Gardner

Adult

Roald Dahl

CYA

Elizabeth George

Adult

Martin Ford

Adult

Stephen J. Gould

Adult

Cornelia Funke

CYA

Sue Grafton

Adult

Elliot Blass

Foil

Andrew Greeley

Adult

Christopher Barr

Foil

Sheryl Green

Foil

Lauren Benjamin

Foil

John Grisham

Adult

Carol Berg

Adult

Alex Haley

Adult

Pierre Berton

Adult

Mimi Hall

Foil

Thomas Bever

Foil

Frank Herbert

Adult

Maeve Binchy

Adult

S. E. Hinton

CYA

Judy Blume

CYA

Erin Hunter

CYA

Dan Brown

Adult

John Jakes

Adult

Jennifer Butterworth

Foil

E.L. James

Adult

Katherine Carpenter

Foil

Erica Jong

Adult

Barbara Cartland

Adult

Wayne Johnston

Adult

Agatha Christie

Adult

Robert Jordan

Adult

Noam Chomsky

Adult

Frank Kiel

Foil

Wayson Choy

Adult

Laurie King

Adult

Tom Clancy

Adult

Stephen King

Adult

Arthur Clarke

Adult

Jeff Kinney

CYA

Suzanne Clarkson

Foil

Naomi Klein

Adult

James Clavell

Adult

Sophie Kinsella

Adult

Suzanne Collins

CYA

Dean Koontz

Adult

Jackie Collins

Adult

Judith Krantz

Adult

Stephen Coonts

Adult

Louis L’Amour

Adult

Edward Cornell

Foil

Margaret Laurence

Adult

Patricia Cornwell

Adult

Ursula LeGuin

Adult

Robertson Davies

Adult

Madeleine L’Engle

CYA

W. Patrick Dickson

Foil

Pricilla Levy

Foil

C. S. Lewis

CYA

Gary Paulsen

CYA

Lois Lowry

CYA

Philip Pullman

CYA

Robert Ludlum

Adult

Daniel Quinn

Adult

Alex Lumsden

Foil

Anne Rice

Adult

George R.R. Martin

Adult

Mordecai Richler

Adult

Ann Marie McDonald

Adult

Rick Riordan

CYA

Morton Mendelson

Foil

J.K. Rowling

CYA

Stephenie Meyer

CYA

Rachel R. Russell

CYA

Janet Evanovich

Adult

Robert J. Sawyer

Adult

James Michener

Adult

Miriam Sexton

Foil

Rohinton Mistry

Adult

Carol Shields

Adult

Christopher Moore

Adult

Sidney Sheldon

Adult

Lucy Maud Montgomery

CYA

Robert Siegler

Foil

Michael Moore

Adult

Lemony Snicket

CYA

James Morgan

Foil

Danielle Steel

Adult

Alice Munro

Adult

Mark Strauss

Foil

Katherine Paterson

CYA

Destin Shaw

Foil

M. Scott Peck

Adult

Amy Tan

Adult

David Perry

Foil

Miriam Toews

Adult

Kate Pullinger

Adult

Alvin Toffler

Adult

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Martin-Chang, S., Kozak, S. & Rossi, M. Time to read Young Adult fiction: print exposure and linguistic correlates in adolescents. Read Writ 33, 741–760 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-019-09987-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-019-09987-y

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