A quarterly publication of the Autism Research Institute
Winter 2026 | Number 1, Volume 40
A study by researchers in China suggests that a simple activity—reading self-selected novels—may help to reduce social anxiety in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) or autistic traits.
GuangYuan Ma and colleagues assessed 1,240 children between eight and 15 years of age, using the Childhood Autism Rating Scale, the Social Anxiety Scale for Children, and the Child Behavior Checklist. All of the children had autistic symptoms or an ASD diagnosis, and none had severe intellectual disabilities. The researchers also evaluated the frequency and duration of the children’s self-selected fiction reading.
The results of their analysis, they say, “indicate that autism symptoms significantly influence behavioral problems through social anxiety, and this indirect pathway is moderated by novel reading habits. Specifically, higher levels of novel reading habits can mitigate the negative impact of autism symptoms on social anxiety, thereby indirectly reducing the occurrence of behavioral problems.” They say that while novel reading appears to have only a limited direct impact on behavioral control, it may improve emotional regulation and social cognition.
The researchers say their findings are in line with other studies on the effects of reading. “For example,” they say, “research has found through guided parent-child reading that children with ASD exhibit sustained improvement in their performance on social perspective taking tasks, indicating that character interactions in novel plots help stimulate their theoretical and social understanding abilities. In addition, a systematic literature review also showed that bibliotherapy can significantly improve the language interaction skills, social participation willingness, and emotional management ability of individuals with ASD, reduce inappropriate behavior, and improve focus.”
Noting that “novels provide immersive plot and multi-dimensional interpersonal interaction scenes, allowing readers to acquire emotional understanding and theory of mind through character immersion,” the researchers conclude, “Encouraging immersive, self-chosen novel reading may therefore complement conventional social-skills and emotion-regulation programs for autistic youth.”
“Story worlds as social armor: Novel reading habits attenuate the autistic traits to social anxiety pathway,” GuangYuan Ma, Qian Luo, JingChi Li, Hui Shi, Yi Chen, and Yang Song, Acta Psychologica, January 2026 (free online). Address: Yang Song, School of Humanities and Management, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou City, Sichuan Province, China, swmumap@163. com.
