Browsing by Author "Suominen, Pauliina"

Objectives. As society sexualizes, the need for sex education grows at the same rate. The development of adolescence needs support and guidance on the way to adulthood, and young people should also be provided with useful reading material as a hobby in support of sex education in schools. In my research, I investigated how the challenges of adolescence are described in youth literature. I will first look at the concepts of adolescence, which play a key role in both books. The aim was to study how sexuality manifests itself in juvenile literature. Methods. This study was conducted with qualitative content analysis. Four works were selected for my research that deal with changes in adolescence and, in particular, the most relevant themes related to sexuality. I study the effects of the hobby of reading, and how the challenges of adolescence are described in the youth literature. I also consider how this type of literature can support youth development. The excerpts I picked up are selected for the results of my research based on how substantially they met the adolescence challenges I addressed. I selected from the works the passages relevant to my research, which I then divided into specific themes. A lot of similarities were found in the material to support each other, as well as the purpose of my research. Results and conclusions. Reading has more of an impact, and identification with the protagonists of the stories carries the ability to cope with problems. Substitute experiences in reading are at their best to help in future situations and emotional states as well. The books I have chosen are well suited to support sex education in their elements. They raised the challenges of adolescence in a variety of ways, and provided a springboard for open discussion with adults. Themes such as interpersonal relationships, emotional turmoil, family life, experimentation with physical boundaries, body image, emotions, and the search for identity are hallmarks of developmental novels, and were also head themes in the works selected for this study. The individual's focus on growth and development was also common. The hobby of reading empowers young people, and showed how its research supports young people on the eve of adolescence.