Abstract: The thesis “High-school Students’ Use of Fantasy and Science Fiction Reading for Escapism” encompasses findings connected to adolescence and young adult literature. We present the emotional, cognitive and social characteristics of adolescence. We take a look at the influence that childhood traumas and defense mechanisms may have on adolescents. We also present findings connected to escapism and reading therapy. The genres from the title – fantasy and science fiction - are described, as well as their history. We also described fairytales and folktales. We took a closer look at the Harry Potter book series and the opinion some critics have about its influence on youth, as well as some well-known fairytales children can identify with. In the empirical part, we presented the results of a survey created to examine the reading habits and motivation of high-school students. We found that high-school students’ general satisfaction with life does not greatly influence their choice of reading materials.Keywords: high-school students, adolescence, literature, fantasy, science fiction, fairytales, escapism, reading therapyPublished in DKUM: 13.10.2017; Views: 1694; Downloads: 210 Full text (740,82 KB)
