Participation in extracurricular activities is purported to protect the broad spectrum of youth from a host of behavioral risks. Yet, empirical research on the extent to which this assumption holds for involvement in violence by immigrant youth is limited. Thus, using data for 13,236 (51.8% female) adolescents from the National Longitudinal Study…

Extracurricular activities provide adolescents with a number of positive personal and interpersonal developmental experiences. This study investigated whether developmental experiences that occurred during extracurricular activities were linked to a more positive self-concept for Australian adolescents, and whether this link was particularly…

Research on adolescent self-esteem indicates that adolescence is a time in which individuals experience important changes in their physical, cognitive, and social identities. Prior research suggests that there is a positive relationship between an adolescent's participation in structured extracurricular activities and well-being in a variety of…

There is a growing concern that some youth are overscheduled in extracurricular activities, and that this increasing involvement has negative consequences for youth functioning. This article used data from the Educational Longitudinal Study (ELS: 2002), a nationally representative and ethnically diverse longitudinal sample of American high school…

Although adolescents often participate in multiple extracurricular activities, little research has examined how the breadth of activities in which an adolescent is involved relates to school-related affect and academic performance. Relying on a large, multi-ethnic sample (N = 864; 55.9% female), the current study investigated linear and non-linear…

Extracurricular activities provide a key context for youth development, and participation has been linked with positive developmental outcomes. Using data from the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development (PYD), this study explored how the intentional self regulation ability of youth interacted with participation in extracurricular activities to…

In this article we investigate the extent to which the relationship between extracurricular activities and youth development depends on situational contexts. Using a national sample including 13,466 youths in grades 7-12 across 120 schools, we conduct school-level analyses of the association between extracurricular activities, delinquency, and…

The goal of this study was to examine initial levels and rates of change in the intensity and breadth of participation in organized activities during the adolescent years, and how these participation practices were related to youth outcomes in later adolescence. The main objectives were (a) to examine growth curves of intensity and breadth of…

There is a dearth of literature that examines rural youths' school transition and adaptation over the middle and high school years. Given rural education challenges, this study examines rural youths' developmental trajectories of self-reported grades and affective and behavioral educational outcomes (i.e., school belonging, value of education,…

A psychosocial conception of ego strengths is presented in relation to adolescent involvement in adult-sponsored structured youth activities. Five-hundred and seventeen high school students completed measures on their involvement in structured activities and on 8 ego strengths. Gender, age, and SES were controlled in a MANCOVA procedure and it was…

Research has linked youth activity involvement to positive development. However, past studies have confounded at least two separable dimensions of involvement: breadth (number of activities) and intensity (participation frequency). Theory and the limited available evidence suggest that these dimensions may make independent contributions to…

The primary purpose of our study was to explore the effects of rurality on school adjustment and other school-related variables. Using data from 167,738 7th-12th graders located in a national sample of 185 predominantly white communities, multilevel models were estimated for perceived school performance and school liking using a variety of…

Conducted 10 focus groups in which adolescents discussed their "growth experiences" in extracurricular and community-based activities. The 55 participants reported personal and interpersonal processes and generally described themselves as agents of their own development and change. (SLD)

Studied the relationship between life satisfaction, social interest, and participation in extracurricular activities in 321 high school students. Higher social interest was significantly related to higher levels of overall satisfaction, and adolescents who participated in more structured extracurricular activities reported higher school…

In this study, we examined the associations between organized activity participation during early adolescence and adjustment in a large and economically diverse sample of African American and European American youth. The sample included 1,047 youth (51% female and 49% male and 67% African American and 33% European American). We used analysis of…