Developmental Benefits of Extracurricular Involvement: Do Peer Characteristics Mediate the Link between Activities and Youth Outcomes?

In this article, we test: (a) the relation between school-based extracurricular participation and indicators of positive and negative development across a range of activity contexts, and (b) a mediation model linking activity participation, prosocial peers, and development. Extensive survey informat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of youth and adolescence 2005-12, Vol.34 (6), p.507-520
Main Authors: Fredricks, Jennifer A, Eccles, Jacquelynn S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic Achievement
Activities
Adjustment
Adolescent
Adolescent Development
Adolescents
Alcohol
Behavior
Biological and medical sciences
Child development
Children & youth
Development
Developmental psychology
Drug use
Extracurricular Activities
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Grade 10
Grade 12
Grade 9
Hypotheses
Hypothesis Testing
Influence
Leisure
Middle Class
Out of school time
Participation
Peer Groups
Peer Influence
Peer Relationship
Peer relationships
Peers
Prosocial Behavior
Psychological Patterns
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Secondary school students
Skill Development
Student Adjustment
Student Participation
Teenagers
White Students
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Summary:In this article, we test: (a) the relation between school-based extracurricular participation and indicators of positive and negative development across a range of activity contexts, and (b) a mediation model linking activity participation, prosocial peers, and development. Extensive survey information was collected from a predominately White sample of middle class adolescents in 9th, 10th, and 12th grades. Extracurricular participation was related to more favorable academic, psychological, and behavioral adjustment; the pattern of findings differed by activity and outcome. In addition, we documented some support for the hypothesis that the link between extracurricular participation and positive adjustment is partly a function of associating with a prosocial peer group. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are presented.
ISSN:0047-2891
1573-6601
DOI:10.1007/s10964-005-8933-5