Study: Teens Who Read “Banned” Books Are More Civically Engaged
PACIFIC STANDARD
By Tom Jacobs
PUBLISHING---From The Catcher in the Rye to The Color Purple, countless books have been banned from school libraries over the years, usually because parents or administrators fear they somehow could be harmful to kids. Well, new research suggests these volumes may indeed have an impact on young, malleable minds. A positive impact. Among a sample of South Texas teens, those who read “banned books” were more likely to be engaged in civic activities such as volunteer work, according to Stetson University psychologist Christopher Ferguson. His study, published in the journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts, finds that while these controversial volumes might be problematic for a small subset of kids, “the influence of banned books on behavior are not worrisome, and may be positive overall.” [link]
By Tom Jacobs
PUBLISHING---From The Catcher in the Rye to The Color Purple, countless books have been banned from school libraries over the years, usually because parents or administrators fear they somehow could be harmful to kids. Well, new research suggests these volumes may indeed have an impact on young, malleable minds. A positive impact. Among a sample of South Texas teens, those who read “banned books” were more likely to be engaged in civic activities such as volunteer work, according to Stetson University psychologist Christopher Ferguson. His study, published in the journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts, finds that while these controversial volumes might be problematic for a small subset of kids, “the influence of banned books on behavior are not worrisome, and may be positive overall.” [link]
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