Evaluation of reading attitudes, motivation and interests in preadolescents and adolescents

Abstract

Introduction. Attitude, motivation and interests in reading are three fundamental aspects of reading as entertainment. ACTIM-LEC is an instrument designed to measure these components, and also includes other relevant factors in establishing a reading habit, such as attitude towards study and reading preferences. The objective of the present research was to validate the factor structure of this instrument in the pre-adolescent and adolescent population. Method. The ACTIM-LEC was applied to a sample of 1904 students (51% male), 525 sixthgraders and 1379 secondary students, with a mean age of 14.07 (SD = 1.48). The instrument’s psychometric properties and factor structure were evaluated, as well as possible differences according to grade in school or gender. Results. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) of the ACTIM-LEC shows adequate goodness of fit to the proposed five-factor model. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed a significant main effect for both gender and school grade Conclusions. The ACTIM-LEC is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing the proposed factors in forming a reading habit. Girls obtained higher overall scores, and scores decreased over progressive years of schooling.