Table 6.

Themes, Sub-Themes, and Quotations about What Makes a Story Engaging

Themes	Sample Quotations
Theme 1: Stories are engaging when they help participants improve their lives
Increase knowledge and skills to solve problems or for self-improvement	… I like reading anything that has to do with improving myself or that helps me understand my children a little better and how to carry on a family … sometimes you identify with (those stories) and they provide solutions.
Learn English (specific skill)	I’ve been reading a book, and it’s in English because I want to learn more English … it really isn’t a habit that was instilled in me from childhood, but I try to read one or two pages per day (laughs).
Motivate by showing real-life examples from real people	(I like books about) self-improvement, about people who had a lot of losses but … they had a dream and at the end they made it happen. Most self-motivation books have examples, so they have the example of President Abraham Lincoln who had a loss here and had a loss there – loss, loss, loss. And at the end he made it. So, self- improvement. And it’s telling you that if you have a loss or a failure, it doesn’t mean that you couldn’t do anything else in your life …
Theme 2: Stories are engaging when they make participants feel good
Provide sense of belonging and normalcy	I read … things that happen to moms. Sometimes I want to find out if certain things only happen to me. Like in the magazines for parents and children, sometimes they put stories there.
Cheer up	It’s like when there’s times when I don’t feel well, when I’m down or something like that, it’s like those (stories) cheer me up and make me feel better, to be good with myself in order to be good with my children, with the people around me.
Build self- esteem/confidence	For fun I really like to hear those about personal improvement that help with women’s self-esteem … I find them interesting because they make me feel a little more secure and see improvements in the future that I’d like for myself or my family or just to be at peace with myself.
Relax	You’re not wasting your time watching TV, and it relaxes you.
Help others (e.g., friends experiencing violence)	Look, I like this show because I’m from Mexico, so I know the violence that exists there against women, from men towards women … I wish I could help in that because I’m against violence, especially in Mexico, and (the TV show host) presents a lot of that, about the abuse against women, and she helps them, and I like watching it daily … Thank God I don’t have a man who beats me. But if I do have a friend, an acquaintance, or someone that I know who is going through it, then I can help them through her, through (the TV show host), who is teaching me through the TV but she’s teaching me.
Provide intrinsic enjoyment	Just the drama that they throw at you (on TV shows). Sometimes you laugh, sometimes there’s thrill, and just to be watching them.
Theme 3: Stories are engaging when they help participants with child rearing
Cheer up children	(In magazines) there are jokes that are very interesting and that I can share with my daughters. If they’re sad or something like that, once I tell them the joke that I got from the magazine, they’re laughing and having a good time …
Engage children in an activity	TV programs or cartoons have shows with activities for children that put their minds to work, and that’s what I try to put on for him.
Teach children knowledge	(I like to read stories) for children because (my children) learn from those stories.
Reading to provide a role model for children	… I won’t lie to you and tell you that I read a book daily, but I try. I’ve also learned that it’s very important for children to like reading, and, like they say, children see things and you can be an example.
Teach children values (e.g., moral lessons)	Because those (Bible) stories are animated, plus they teach obedience to children, to respect others, whether older or younger, the same, so I like for them to learn from that, about respect.