A new study has claimed that reading improves your relationships and reduces the symptoms of depression.
The Reading Agency analysed 51 papers and reports, with the aim to assess the impact of reading on literacy and academic success.
The study searched for the non-academic side effects of reading for pleasure, such as better communication between children and parents, boost in self-esteem, reduced anxiety and stress and a greater understanding of other cultures.
Respondents who read more frequently were reported to have an enhanced ability to understand other people’s class, ethnicity, culture and political perspectives.
The research also found that most children do not read on a daily basis, and almost a third of adults don’t read for pleasure.
Sue Wilkinson of The Reading Agency said that it was very interesting that outcomes of reading were based on enjoyment.
For parents to encourage their children to read for fun, Susan Elkin, a journalist, former teacher and the author of ‘Please Miss, We’re Boys,’ said that the key was “stereotyping, role modelling and expectation” as the boys saw their mothers reading but often not their fathers, and hence copy them, and tend to be more fidgety and slower to mature than their sisters.
