READING MOTIVATION, PRACTICES, AND HABITS IN YOUNG ADULTS: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Exploring the construct of reading motivation plays a crucial role in supporting reading habits across one’s lifespan. To counteract the gradual decline in interest in reading and to foster readers capable of maintaining the pleasure of reading over time, it is necessary to adopt a diachronic perspective in which interventions are embedded within an integrated, flexible, and systemic model of reading education. Such a model makes it possible to act both on the development of reading comprehension skills and on the emotional and affective components that sustain reading habits. Reading motivation has been extensively investigated among primary and secondary school students, whereas studies focusing on university students or, more broadly, on the profile of adult readers are far less common. Consequently, validated tools capable of gathering reliable information on adult readers are also less developed. The present study aims to broaden the reflection on the dimensions that influence individuals’ engagement in reading practices after the completion of formal schooling. Its main objective was to identify suitable tools to examine in depth the profile of adult readers, with particular attention to the dimension of reading motivation. Within this framework, the process of translating and adapting the Adult Motivation for Reading Scale by Schutte and Malouff (2007) for the Italian context was initiated. This instrument is designed to measure four main dimensions: reading as part of one’s personal identity, reading selfefficacy, reading for recognition, and reading as a means of enhancing performance in other domains. Introducing this tool into the Italian context represents a valuable resource for examining the profile of adult readers, particularly among university students.