Adolescents and print media : a selected annotated bibliography of source material in U.S. journals

This work presents a selected annotated bibliography exploring adolescents and their use of print media, and the ways the print media influence this use. How, when, where, and why adolescents use print media is an important social issue and an equally important economic issue for the media, however, adolescents' use of the print media is an area of research that is seldom studied or recorded. What little information does exist relies heavily on opinion and offers few facts. Prior to this thesis, no bibliography existed offering one source of information concerning adolescents and their print media use. Yet, by examining four sources of information about adolescents in the United States and their use of the print media, citations of existing studies were combined to provide a starting point for future researchers of this topic.

The four journals examined for material were selected based on the quantity of information each could contribute on the subject of adolescents and the print media; all scholarly journals published between the years 1982 and 1991 that contained any articles on the topic were noted. The four journals that printed three or more articles during this time period were examined from first publishing to the most recent and all articles about adolescents and their relationship with the print media are included in this annotated bibliography. Findings from this compilation reveal information about the content, form, and quality of existing studies.

It was concluded from this annotated bibliography that the subject of adolescents and their relationship with the print media is an area in need of further study. Currently, researching this area is a lengthy, unproductive task; this thesis is designed to make that task simpler and more fruitful by providing a starting point and offering research suggestions for further study.