Megan Rogers and Dr. Sarah M. Coyne, School of Family Life
Over the past 50 years the effects of being exposed to questionable material in the media has been studied. During this time, a large body of research has accumulated which suggests that exposure to behaviors such as substance abuse, sexuality, violence, and other forms of aggression have an impact on the behavior of the consumer and how they view the world. These effects have been studied and found to be fairly consistent among various forms of media such as music, movies, video games, and television. Although a great deal of research has been conducted on the subject, hardly any studies exist that specifically examine the content of adolescent literature and what effect it may have on the viewer. This is significant because a large amount of the population, particularly adolescents, participate in leisurely reading.
Our study examined the content existing in both traditional and graphic adolescent novels, adding to the larger body of research on adolescent behavior and media – a valuable addition to scholarly resources and to our society as a whole. You may be aware that there are rating systems for TV, movies, music, and even video games but no rating system exists for books. An adolescent is free to check out any book at the library without any question as to what the content or effects may be. More knowledge regarding the content of adolescent literature will help to make society more aware of the content adolescents are being exposed to and may even aid in the development of some form of rating system for books.
We began our project with a literature review, examining findings that have already been published concerning exposure to questionable material in the media, particularly literature, and its effect on viewer behavior. We then generated a few research questions and hypotheses. After the compilation of the materials which included a sample of 60 adolescent books, I and other undergraduate and graduate students were trained on how to code the literature for content including sexuality, substance abuse, and several forms of physical and relational aggression. Contextual coding for behaviors (portrayed as justified, rewarded or punished) was also done, along with the demographics (gender, age, SES and sociometric status) of the characters.
After training was completed, we all participated in a pilot study in which 10% of the sample was assessed for reliability (α > .70). I was then assigned a list of adolescent books which I coded in-depth, while continuing to meet regularly with Dr. Coyne and the other coders. The data I collected was added to the rest of the study in an attempt to better characterize the content prevalent in adolescent literature.
After all the data was compiled, I continued to meet with Dr. Coyne and chose to analyze the results regarding a specific topic (substance use) in the literature using a statistical analysis program. Results found that overall, 62% of books contained some form of substance use. The frequency of substance use was higher among males (57%) than females (33%), χ2(1)= 38.24, p < .001, φ = .27. Most substance use is portrayed as taking place in a social or public setting (65%) versus private (31%), χ2(1)= 70.25, p < .001, φ = .50. In addition, instances wherein substances were offered to a user occurred significantly less frequently than substances that were self-obtained (19% vs. 77%) χ2(1)= 232.9, p < .001, φ = .91.
Later, I worked with Dr. Coyne in preparation for the Mary Lou Fulton Mentored Research Conference held in April, 2009 at BYU, where I presented the information found from our study at a poster session. The poster session was a great opportunity where I could not only look at other student’s research, but talk to people about my project and the findings we collected. Findings of this study will also probably be presented at the International Society for the Research on Aggression conference (ISRA) in 2010. We are also planning on writing up the results in numerous journal articles. Potential journals include Journal of Communication, Aggressive Behavior, and Journal of Media Psychology.
Being able to publish the data we’ve found is very exciting and important to me. More important to me, however, is not only analyzing and publishing the data I’ve collected, but the unique educational experience I have been blessed to have. Through working on this project, I have been able to learn through hands-on experience how to conduct research as well as analyze data. I have also been able to have the experience of presenting research in a professional academic setting. This opportunity has given me more expertise in my field while building meaningful relationships with faculty members, some of which have been life-changing. The knowledge I have acquired as well as the relationships I have built will be especially helpful as I enter graduate school in the next year or so. This opportunity has helped change my educational experience and ultimately became a major aspect of my life.