Researchers have documented positive associations among youth program quality and academic outcomes, primarily based on cross-sectional data. This study examined longitudinal associations among youth-reported program experiences and academic expectations, self-reported grades, and perceived value of school using data from the national evaluation…

To examine whether trajectories of participation in organized activities during the high school years and beyond (from ages 14 to 20) predicted outcomes at age 21 (externalizing problems, internalizing problems, civic engagement, number of years of education, and perception of physical health), 354 youths (60% girls) were surveyed annually over…

Current knowledge of intraindividual longitudinal patterns of civic participation (CP) and their predictors remains limited. As life cycle trends are showing a decline in civic/political involvement during early adulthood years, increased understanding of these aspects could enhance efforts to promote greater and/or sustained CP trajectories among…

Although organized activities promote positive youth development, Latina/os are least likely to participate among ethnic minority youth. This study tested whether an indicator of social stratification, namely mothers' documentation status (i.e., nativity, citizenship, and legal status), explained low activity participation rates among Mexican and…

The limited understanding on why Latino parents endorse organized activities is problematic given that these beliefs can help elucidate why they overcome barriers to support their children's participation. In this study, we analyzed interviews from a diverse group of 34 Mexican-origin parents who resided in Arizona. Results of the study indicate…

Latino adolescents often are less likely to participate in extracurricular activities compared to youth from other ethnic groups. This descriptive study examined the differences in activity participation by family resources and markers of cultural orientation for the four largest Latino ethnic groups in the U.S. Findings were based on secondary…

There is a widespread belief that youth drop out of youth development programs during the middle school years. Alternative explanations for the smaller number of adolescent program participants have yet to be explored. We examine age trends in program enrollment using data from over 221,000 youth enrolled in the California 4-H Youth Development…

The purpose of the current investigation was to examine the associations between a variety of measures of extracurricular participation and indicators of youth development. We use data from the Childhood and Beyond Study, a larger longitudinal study of adolescent development. The sample is primarily White middle-class adolescents in Grades 7…