Presents evidence connecting community service and religiousness in American youth. These data from nationally representative samples strengthen the case that the many contemporary youth who take religion seriously are vibrantly engaged in their schooling, in the betterment of communities, and the development of identities that presage healthy…

This study examined whether and which types of voluntary service might facilitate adolescents' civic development. Analyses showed that social-cause service participation was positively related to concern for social issues, future unconventional civic intentions, and future intended service. Findings suggest a developmental connection between…

This study examined the association between adolescents' religious development, social integration, and risk-taking behaviors. Religious development was tracked along 4 trajectories from sophomore to senior year in high school: low religiosity (sophomore)-low religiosity (senior), low-high, high-low, and high-high. Civic integration was measured…

Responses from high school students were analyzed to identify associations among peer group orientation, voluntary service, and civic engagement measures. Specific crowd types were constructed through cluster analysis of reputational group activities and described as school, disengaged, all-around, fun, and average. Findings support the theory of…

This book presents a theoretical rationale for youth involvement in community service. Its thesis is that youth participation in solving social problems has the potential to promote the development of personal and collective identity. Through community service, youth can acquire a sense that they can make a difference and a concern for society's…

Identified predictors of normative, unconventional, and deviant identity orientations among youth in a nationally representative sample of 13,000 high school seniors. Found that frequency of community service substantially increased predictability of identity orientation above background characteristics and part-time work involvement. Most…