The Association Between Reading and Emotional Development: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Reading practice is associated with numerous psychological benefits. However, its influence over individual emotional dimensions has generally been underestimated by research. Only recently has it been recognized across different developmental stages but evidence is still scarce. The aim of this systematic review is to shed light over the association between reading and the several (and sometimes hardly distinguishable) socio-emotional constructs that we have identified in literature: interpersonal skills and prosocial behavior; emotional and behavioral symptoms; emotional regulation and expression; empathy and theory of mind; emotional knowledge and comprehension; and emotional responses. A total of 50 studies were analyzed, including all age groups, various settings, research drawings, and different emotional constructs in order to create a comprehensive view of the association between reading and emotions. Results show that overall reading practice has a positive impact on socio-emotional development, whatever its declination, regardless of age, gender or setting of implementation.

Building Vocabulary Bridges: Exploring Pre-Service Primary School Teachers’ Dispositions on L2 Vocabulary Instruction for Emergent Bilinguals through Interactive Book Reading

“…Emergent bilinguals primarily encounter L2 at school, which places a significant responsibility on their teachers [5]. In line with previous research, the present study advocates interactive book reading (IBR) as a didactic approach for enhancing emergent bilinguals' vocabulary development [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. Despite the demonstrated importance of rich contextualized vocabulary instruction in the primary grades, attention to IBR diminishes both in practice and in research beyond the preschool age [14][15][16][17][18][19].…”

“…However, during indepth conversations concerning the practical integration of IBR into daily practice, eleven participants showed that they considered IBR a supplementary activity, often relegated to moments of surplus time disconnected from the primary educational objectives. This conception is not in line with research findings and fails to acknowledge IBR's inherent value to achieve crucial learning goals [5][6][7]57]. To effectively integrate vocabulary instruction in class (in the context of IBR), several approaches were put forward by the participants that will be discussed below.…”

Becoming Literate: Educational Implications of Coordinated Neuropsychological Development of Reading and Social-Emotional Functioning Among Diverse Youth

“…It is a foundation from which individuals come to understand and interact with their world throughout their life and even grow their intelligence (Ritchie et al, 2015). Aside from productivity and information access, literacy is associated with the development of interpersonal skills, such as empathy and perspective-taking, that are key for navigating human relationships (Batini et al, 2021;Dodell-Feder & Tamir, 2018;LaRusso et al, 2016;Sparapani et al, 2018). Literacy has the potential to help young people create the future they desire.…”

The effects of reading and watching fiction on the development of social cognition: a systematic review

“…For the purpose of this study, we will consider stories presented in fiction texts (books and short fiction works) and movies. Previous studies have investigated the influence of literature on different aspects, such as empathy, theory of mind, self-reflection and emotional development [15][16][17] . On the other hand, few studies have investigated the effects of movies or other types of media on cognitive aspects.…”